Fire Emblem: Radiant Skies
by shadowhunterwithasouffle
Summary: "This is WAR! We can't just sit around and do nothing!" Yes, Tellius is at war again, with the neighboring country of Gravenvale. The children of our original heros must fight for the safety of the continent, lest the world be enveloped in darkness...
1. Prologue

_One year after the events of defeating Ashera, the United Bird Tribes have fallen, due to Naesala. Prince Reyson of Serenes must now find a way to revive his tribe that perished in the Massacre…_

* * *

_**Serenes Forest**_

"On to plan B, brother?"

"Plan B, Rafiel? More like plan Z."

Prince Reyson put his head in his hands. He'd come to the conclusion that it was impossible to revive the heron race. And without the help of Tibarn, that made it even worse….

Tibarn. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? Just because Naesala and he were enemies again, doesn't mean that Tibarn won't help. "Rafiel," said Reyson, elevating himself with his pure white wings, "I'm heading out to Phoenicis. I've got an idea."

"Good," said Reyson's elder brother. "Take your time."

_**Not far from Phoenicis Hall**_

Reyson flew swiftly through the sunset-streaked sky, trying not to tire himself out. The journey from Serenes to Hawk King Tibarn's island was longer than he had expected, but it was worth the journey. If Tibarn agreed to his plan, Serenes might actually be a country again.

Far off in the distance, Phoenicis Hall was able to be seen to Reyson's keen eyesight. His flying speed doubled as he raced to the highest pillar of the rugged brown castle, where Tibarn was waiting for him. He stopped only inches from Tibarn. "Good day, hawk king."

Tibarn nodded out of respect. "Same to you, heron prince. What brings you here?"

Reyson lowered himself from the skies, and landed next to Tibarn. "I was wondering how I should go about restoring my race."

Tibarn shook his head and chuckled slightly. "I was wondering when you would ask that. I expected you to beg for help after Naesala's -_ahem-_outburst." He winced at the thought of the black-haired raven.

Reyson rolled his eyes. "Outburst? That's an understatement. Naesala practically exploded at the fact that you, of all bird laguz, were going to take watch over _his _ravens, even though he's not even going to be there."

Tibarn laughed immensely. "Looks like all that hard work Nealuchi did to elevate Naesala's reputation was for nothing." He shook his head. "I wonder why Naesala can't stand me."

Reyson shrugged. "Hmph, who knows?" He stared out at the sunset before him. "At least Kilvas is doing better as a country." Reyson nervously fidgeted with his wings. "Anyway, Tibarn, about my race…"

"Ah, yes!" Tibarn said excitedly, turning to face Reyson. "What do you need? I'm open for anything."

"Um, I'm actually…" he paused, trying to get his words out correctly. "… I'm wondering if my brother and I could be some of your hawk ladies' suitors."

Tibarn looked shocked for a second, and then he smiled. "This is a last resort isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Hm… I wonder if mating a heron with a hawk gets half-breeds."

"I've done the research. It doesn't. You either get one or the other."

Tibarn stared at the heron prince for a second, wondered how he knew that, and then realized he didn't want to know and continued. "Alright then. Maybe your brother and yourself could make your way over here tonight? I'll get some hopeful ladies rounded up fast."

Reyson nodded eagerly, happy that Tibarn was agreeing with his plan. "Tonight then. Agreed?" he held out his hand for a shake.

Tibarn gripped Reyson's hand firmly. "Agreed."

* * *

_And so it was done. The heron race would finally grow in numbers. Let us fast forward to seventeen years later, where we meet our first new prince of Serenes…_


	2. Dawn Breaks

_**Part 1: Gravenvale Advances**_

_**~Dawn Breaks~**_

_**

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**_

_**~Castle Serenes~**_

"Darren! Up!"

I rolled over onto my back in my four-poster bed, shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand. It was early of course, but it's not like my father cared. I pulled the covers tightly over my face.

"Darren! Now!"

I groaned and realized I wasn't getting anywhere by disobeying Dad. I sat up slowly and shook out my white wings from being pulled in all night. Personally, I wish my wings were black.

"DARREN! If you are not down here in the next ten seconds I have the right to-" "I'm coming, alright?"

I rose from my bed and pulled on my black pants and button-up Chinese style jacket, scowling. Why did I have to get up so early? I wrapped my skirt-ish thing around my pants, brushed my long hair back into in ponytail, and stomped down the stairs.

"That was the third time I had to call you. Do you want me to ground you?" My father, Reyson, pointed his finger in my face the second I landed on the bottom step.

"First, no, I don't want to be grounded." Grounded for a heron prince means no flying. "Secondly, when did it become a rule you have to get up at dawn?"

Dad growled. "I don't care when it became a rule, it is now." He pointed in the direction of the pavilion, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Go. Selene is waiting for you."

I walked by him, careful not to brush his side. I thought I would have him lash out at me or something.

As I was walking down the ornate hallways of our newly built castle, I thought about Selene. My energetic, spazzy cousin. She was always up extremely early and had made it a ritual to meet in the pavilion every day and practice galdrar together. I scowled as I walked through the archway to the pavilion. I hated singing as much as I hated getting up early.

The pavilion's beauty was immense. Flowers covered the dew-streaked grass, and pillars surrounded it save one small corner where you could see the sun rise and set. Selene was sitting near that corner, watching the sun over the horizon. Her blond hair was neat and smooth on her back, except for one strand she was twirling around her finger.

"Selene." I called her name from afar.

"_Okoti !_" she called in the ancient tongue. "Good morning! Come, come sit with me!" she patted the spot next to her on the grass.

I walked to the spot adjacent to her and sat, staring at the sunrise. The color of yellow, pink, and orange streaked the sky. I closed my eyes and let the sun's rays illuminate my pale skin. "Now I see why you come out here every day."

She patted my leg. "It is quite…. relaxing." She stood. I opened my eyes to see she had clasped her hands in a prayer-like fashion. She did not motion for me to rise, so I stayed where I was and watched her.

She sang a galdr, with her sweet, clear voice like a bell. She sounded so much like Aunt Leanne, like I sounded like my father Reyson. As I listened to her sing, her voice seemed to keep time with the swaying of the trees….

She sighed as she finished the last note. "Whew! How tiring!" She went to the middle of the pavilion, and my eyes followed. She sat and picked and assortment of flowers from around her.

I called to her, "Have you seen Rothen?"

"Hm? Rothen?" she thought about where her brother might be. "No, why?"

"Just asking." I turned my attention back to the sun for only a second when a small winged figure appeared in front of my view. I stood and saw Nare, our raven cousin, hovering in front of me.

"Hah! I scared you, didn't I, Darren!" he put on the same jokingly sadistic smile his father, Naesala, always used.

I patted his thirteen year old head. "No. You didn't."

"Aw, man!" he pouted and crossed his arms in midair. "I never get any fun!"

"Nare!" Selene ran across to the pavilion, almost tripping over hers own feet. She handed him the flowers she had picked. "Give these to Uncle Naesala, would you?"

"Sure will!" he gently lifted the bouquet from her hands.

"Nare," I asked, "where's your sister, Anya?"

"She's still 'sick' as Mom says…" Nare looked thoughtful. "I haven't seen her since we were ten! I miss her, I really do." Nare nodded solemnly. I wondered if he was thinking about his twin heron sister.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." I said reassuringly.

A small smile crept onto Nare's face. "Yeah… you're right! Anya's a trooper. She'll pull through."

"So is she in Kilvas?" Selene questioned. I wondered that too. If Anya really was sick, shouldn't she be elsewhere?

"No…. she's… I don't really know."

Something was fishy. Nare didn't know where his own sister was? She'd magically disappeared one day on her tenth birthday, and she hadn't been seen since. "Is your mom worried?" I asked.

"Nah, she's just… Leanne."

I nodded. If Aunt Leanne wasn't worried, we shouldn't be either. "Then don't worry Nare. Go on, get back to Kilvas."

"Yeah, yeah… see you later!" Nare waved and flew off, his black wings streaking the air gracefully.

Selene waved back. "See you!...Come on, Darren." She grabbed my hand and proceeded to the castle. I stopped her at the door and pulled my hand away.

"Selene, do you think that Anya's…." the words caught in my throat. I wasn't ready the reveal where I thought Anya was.

Selene looked at me strangely, and then smiled. "You worry too much!" She started to walk to our breakfast hall. "Come on, slowpoke, let's eat!"

I stood a second, thinking, but the hurried after her. "Hey! Wait! Selene!"

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**Ancient Language Translation**

_Okoti- cousin_

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**Okay! 1st chapter is up ^^ Darren reminds me of Soren XD Anway, we won't see Anya until the end of Part 1.**

**Disclamer: I do not own Fire Emblem. Only my OCs.**

**Please Review!**


	3. Serenes Forest Ablaze

**Part 1: Gravenvale Advances**

**~Serenes Forest Ablaze~**

_**~Castle Serenes~**_

"Selene! Slow down!"

"Oh, shut up! If you were hungry, you would be running too!"

_No, I wouldn't be running, I'd be passed out on the floor from starvation. _I chuckled a bit at my own joke.

While Selene ran toward the doors of the breakfast hall, I slowed down behind her. She threw open the doors and shouted, "I'M HUNGRY AND I WANT PANCAKES!"

I put my head in my hands. Selene was such a weirdo! She's fifteen and acted like a little kid sometimes.

"What do you mean, there are no pancakes? I want pancakes! Daddy, please!" Selene begged Rafiel from inside the breakfast hall.

Sorry. "Sometimes" is an understatement. Selene acts like a kid _all the time. _

I sighed and walked through the ornate wooden doors. My eyes widened when I saw Selene kneeling on the floor, at Uncle Rafiel's feet. She had on the classic puppy-dog face. If there's one thing about Selene I honor, it's her begging. She can get anything she wants, and that's one thing I can't do.

"Please, Daddy, please!" Selene made crying noises to make her persuading more believable.

Rafiel sighed and looked directly into Selene's pleading blue eyes. He made it short and simple. "No Selene. Not today."

Shockingly, Selene shrugged and took her place in a chair on one side of the long table in the breakfast hall. "Oh well…. I'll survive…. Can I have a roll of bread please?"

I sniffed. "What in Ashera's name was that, Selene?"

Selene looked over at me with a glaring look. She shook her head as she took her roll from Rafiel.

I sighed and walked to the table and took my place. Selene had always been like this. Overly peppy, overly childish, overly…. weird. Even when we were little, she obsessed over what she wanted for breakfast, except then she actually cried.

"But why?" A five-year-old Selene would scream.

"Because I-" Rafiel would start, but he would be cut off my Selene's loud wailing.

I sighed. This was one of the many reasons why I liked Rothen better.

"So, guess what?" Selene said excitedly. "We saw Nare today."

"Oh really? And how is he doing?" Dad said, absentmindedly twirling a string of his hair.

"He's worried about Anya…. he says his mom says she's sick."

At Anya's name, Reyson's eyes widened. "Anya? Oh, she's not sick."

I stood up abruptly. I knew that Anya wasn't sick! "If she's not, then why hasn't she been seen in three years?"

Reyson lowered his voice, he looked at Rafiel, and he nodded. "Anya is sleeping somewhere in the Serenes Forest."

I smiled. "I knew it."

"Sure you did." Selene rolled her eyes.

"I did, Selene."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"SILENCE!" Reyson shouted over us. He sat and drummed his fingers on the table. "You two act like children…"

I sniffed. Selene said, "Hmph."

"Anyway…" Rafiel said, "that was all Leanne's plan. And we still don't know why she did it."

Selene opened her mouth to speak, but then sniffed the air. "Is that…. smoke I smell?" She stood from the table and rushed to the window. She gasped. "Dad! Dad! The forest-"

"The forest is on fire!" Rothen entered the room with a bang, his light brown hair sweaty. "I'm sorry, I was just messing around with some glass and the sun caught it and-"

"Rothen." I heard my dad say. He was using his voice he only uses when he is really mad. "Go to your room. NOW."

Rothen scooted out off the room, cursing himself for being so careless.

My heart was beating double time, but I tried to stay calm. "What do we do?"

"We need water, right now." Rafiel began to exit the room quickly. "Selene, follow me to the river!"

Selene nodded eagerly and followed her father out.

A bit nervous, I turned to my dad. "Dad, do I-"

"Go, Darren."

"But-"

"JUST GO!" His voice made me jump and I scrambled out of the room quickly. I began to run, my long hair streaking my face. How in the world did Rothen, mature Rothen, manage to set the forest ablaze? I million questions ran through my head as I reached the pavilion. I looked out upon Serenes Forest. The forest fire was spreading rapidly, the red flames engulfing the southern half of the forest.

"We need to save the altar! SELENE! Don't go that way!"

"Rothen, shut up! _Etiik o ibekas on ihsataw ikim en awik…"_

"Selene! This is not the time for a galdr! More water!"

The voices of my heron cousins echoed through the forest like gusting winds on a stormy day. I ran forward toward the opening in the columns, and jumped, feeling the wind whip around me. I elevated enlarging my white wings, and did a sharp 180 turn. I was headed straight for the fire.

* * *

_**~Serenes Forest~**_

After hours of passing water bucket from one hand to the next, the fire had subsided. Rafiel, Selene and I stood at the altar, breathing heavily. The damage the fire had caused was immense. About half the forest was burned and charred black. It was… devastating.

Next to me, Selene began to cry silent tears. She reached down onto the ground and picked up a sole leaf that was still green. She held it against her chest, and closed her eyes.

"Well," Rafiel said. "I never thought the forest would suffer damage again." He began to walk away. "If you two wan to stay here and mourn, do so. I have business to attend to." He sauntered off into the trees.

I sat on the ground leaning my back on the altar. Would it ever be restored to it former beauty?

"Darren." Selene called my name and I looked up at her. "I have an idea."

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**Ancient Language Translation**

___…_- Trees, root, and trunk, hear my cry...

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**This chapter took me several hours and was epic! Chapter 4 up soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.**


	4. The SilverHaired Maiden

**_Part 1: Gravenvale Advances_**

**_~The Silver-Haired Maiden~_**

* * *

Selene's idea was genius- to her, anyway. After spending a few hours by the Serenes altar, with Selene pacing back and forth and me- well, not pacing, we finally went back to the castle at about noon. Not to my surprise, Rothen was grounded for as long as Rafiel saw fit. The fact that Rothen was grounded made Selene a bit more excited about our plan, because it was perfect to get him un-grounded. The plan went like this:

Selene and I were going to leave our castle stealthily not long after the sun sunk below the horizon. We would scuttle to the altar again and sing the Galdr of Rebirth, reviving the charred half of the forest, and then slip back inside, hopefully unnoticed. The flaw in the plan? I. Hate. Singing.

"But you're a heron," she pleaded. "You have a natural talent for a lovely voice, even if you-"

"Excuse me, did you just call my voice lovely?" I glared at her, wondering where she got that crazy idea. "My voice sounds good. It is not P_lovely_, Selene." At this she fell silent.

I went on to explain there also was another error. If our parents caught us we would probably be grounded longer than Rothen. Selene actually had no protest for that, yet she still said, "We are going to do it for Rothen. End of story."

So now we had just finished dinner. Rothen, who was only allowed out of his room for food, picked at the fish on his plate angrily and he excused himself from the table after about five minutes, slamming the door behind him. Selene worriedly looked after him. I actually felt kind of bad for my cousin, but come on, he's seventeen. He really should have been more careful.

Selene gave me a hard punch in the arm, reading my thoughts about Rothen. "Shut it, Darren," she whispered. "Stop giving him such a bad rep."

"I'm not giving him a bad rep, you shut it," I almost said, but Dad glowered at me and I was silent.

After dinner, Selene and I began our trip into the heart of the forest where the altar was. It was dark, and no moon shone whatsoever. The fact that the forest was blackened made it even darker.

Selene shivered next to me as we walked through the forest together, twigs crunching under our feet. "It's cold. I'm freezing." She shivered.

"Hey, it was your idea to do this at night. We were lucky to get out of the castle alive." At our planned exit place, the back of the castle, Reyson had been standing only feet away. If it were not for our soft shoes, we would have been cooked heron by now. Not literally, of course.

Selene said, "I resent that," and continued to walk toward our destination, her arms wrapped around her body.

When we were within several yards of the altar, I noticed the ground around our feet was so covered with fog that I couldn't see my shoes. Selene shivered again. "I'm not sure about doing this anymore, Darren."

"Oh, come on, Selene! You're such a worry wart. We're here now, so let's go." I grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her along with me, but as soon as we reached the clearing of the altar, I felt a tug on my wing and rusting in the bushes. I whipped my head around to where I heard the noise. Silence.

"Darren! Up here!" I hadn't noticed the Selene had released my grip on her arm. She was now on top of the altar, waving frantically.

I sighed, forgetting about the tiny pain in my right wing, and flew up to join her.

We faced each other on the altar. "Are you ready?" I asked quietly.

She put her hands in a prayer-like fashion and nodded. Down below, I swore I could have heard moving in the bushes again. I dismissed it and prepared to sing, hearing bells ring around me as I performed the ancient magic.

_Imisanakikeganonawot  
Orokokumorodametemotowikot  
Uaerufetotetiarahowimay  
Oditiuomami_

When Selene and I were almost finished with the galdr, I heard voices below. They were at bit low at first, one was talking about maybe knowing the song, but then I heard a girl's voice shriek, "Mya, look! Up there!"

Even though she wasn't talking to me, I looked up. And what I saw made my jaw drop.

Beautiful golden sparks of light were forming above us, reaching to every part of the charred forest. I stared in awe as every leaf was made green, the ground, covered with grass. I realized I had lost focus on the galdr because the golden light stopped when I looked down, so I closed my eyes, holding my hands in front of me, fully concentrated.

All of a sudden a felt a warmth, a light. Somehow, it felt as if the sun was shining, though I knew that wasn't possible. I opened my eyes slightly, and scanned around the forest. Everything, and I mean everything, was completely restored to its natural beauty. Birds flew through the air even though it was after dark, and I smiled, closing my eyes again. We'd done it.

The same child's voice came from down below. "It's incredible! So awesome!" She giggled childishly, and I could tell she was enjoying the forest.

An older girl's voice-she sounded about my age- said, "The herons can even restore a forest…. huh…"

I was about to go down and see who our intruders were when a force-Selene- rammed into me. I staggered backward, almost falling off the altar.

"Sorry, Darren, I was just trying to hug you." She released her grip from me and brushed off her white, silken dress. "I'm just so happy…. We actually did it."

I nodded. "Yeah. Now come on, let go see who is down there."

"There are people down there?" Selene said in shock as we walked toward the edge of the clearing where the oldest girl was still standing. "Beorc? Where?"

I shook my head. "You need to pay more attention, Selene." I looked at the oldest girl.

She was quite pretty, her hair an unnatural silver color, her frantic eyes, golden. She wore fingerless gloves that reached my mid-upper arm, and an extremely long blue scarf. Her maroon clothing, short in the front and long in the back, was accented with a belt and black leggings. To top it all off, her boots were a light shade of brown. "Ellie? Ellie! Where did you go?" The girl began to look around the forest again, but she caught my eye, blinked and curtsied. "My humblest apologies, heron prince. My younger friend and I were just looking around Begnion, and we got lost…" She lifted her head slightly, waiting for my response.

I smiled slightly at her. "It's alright." I bowed deeply. "I am Prince Darren of Serenes, son of Reyson of Serenes and Aria of Phoenicis." I rose and out of the corner of my eye I saw the little girl, presumably Ellie, return again.

"And I am Princess Selene. Daughter of Rafiel of Serenes, and Ruka of Phoenicis." Selene barely grasped the edges of her dress in a bob.

"I'm Mya." She did not curtsy, but she bowed slightly. "Princess Mya, daughter of Sothe and Micaiah of Daein."

"Ellie's my name, and bein' a princess is my game!" The child, with her blue-green hair and matching dress, grinned widely. Mya nudged her with her elbow and she curtsied, clearing her throat. "I'm Princess Ellen of Crimea, daughter of Lord Ike and Queen Elincia. But you can call me Ellie." She smiled again.

I smiled a bit, but my full attention was focused on Mya. They way she stood, the way her hair fell across her shoulders… she was so nice-looking. On impulse, I stepped forward and placed Mya's hand in mine, and bowed again. "A pleasure to meet you, milady." I kissed the delicate skin on her hand, and immediately thought, _What am I doing?_

I abruptly stepped back, feeling my face flush. Ellie began to giggle quietly, and Mya blushed, looking at her feet.

_Great job, Darren,_ I thought sardonically, _real smooth._

I turned to Selene, who was staring at me like I had a screw loose. She shook her head, and said to the newcomers, "So, where are you headed?"

Ellie said, "Crimea," at the exact time Mya said, "Daein." Mya nudged Ellie again, and said, "I'm heading to Daein alone. Ellie's calling upon some of her country's army to escort her to Crimea, once she reaches the forest's border."

Selene nodded. "Okay. Let us walk to the edge of the forest together, shall we?" She led the way, with Ellie falling into step behind her. Mya followed suit, and I walked up next to her.

"Sorry," were the first words out of my mouth. I felt my face become hot again.

" 'Tis okay," she muttered, avoiding my eyes.

"No, really," I stood in front of her path, not letting her get around me. "I acted impulsively. I didn't mean to get too close too fast. Forgive me, Maiden of Daein."

Mya's eyes softened. She was looking at me now. "It's perfectly fine. I'm used to being around such gentlemen." She twirled a string of silver hair on her finger, and walked around me.

I walked beside her again. "So, how did you get up here?"

"Well," she began, "Mom, Dad, Ike, Elincia, Ellie, and I were going to visit Auntie Sanaki here in Begnion. I'm sure you've heard of her." I nodded, and she continued. "Tonight, Ellie decided she was going to sneak out and see if she could catch a heron feather in the forest. I caught up with her and we hid near the altar, and you so happened to walk by. She pulled your feather out of your wing."

I rubbed the spot where I now had one less feather. "She is sure good at being quiet."

"Yeah…" Mya walked more quickly. "And then we heard you sing that song, and I know both Ellie and I have heard it somewhere…" she trailed off, lost in thought.

I wondered how she could have known it, but I didn't want to pry. Also, we had reached the edge of the forest, and the moon was in full view now.

"Thanks for walking me." I looked up and Mya had already started down the path that led to Daein. "It was nice meeting you!"

"You, too," I called, sad to see her go. I watched her as her figure became smaller and smaller, and finally, faded into the fog.

"Goodbye, Ellie!" Selene then turned to me and tugged my arm. "Come on Darren, let's go. I think our parents may have figured out by now that we are gone."

As she dragged me toward the castle, I thought about Mya, and how her silver locks gleamed in the moon light as she walked away.

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**So..much typing... XD**

**For those of you who read between the lines, this chapter was quite canon in the middle (Life Returns, remember?)**

**And I will put theme songs for my main charas on my profile if anyone is interested.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.**

**I am warning you now... I IGNORE THE FACT THAT LAGUZ AGE SLOWER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE. If Rothen is seventeen, he looks seventeen, and he has lived seventeen years. End of story. (but I think all my herons are going to stop aging at seventeen,and just get mentally older, not physically.)**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Branded

**_Part One: Gravenvale Advances_**

**_~Branded~_**

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"I'm not grounded anymore? Seriously?" Rothen almost yelled excitedly, his voice raising an octave.

"Well, the forest is all restored so…." Rafiel smiled and winked at Selene and me from the other side of the hallway.

After coming in from the forest at about ten o'clock, Selene begged-_again_- for Rafiel to let Rothen off the hook. He still said no, until Selene pushed him toward the window. He almost fainted.

On the other hand, my dad was speechless. He was so shocked that we, of all people, could restore a forest, and Selene replied:

"Well, we are herons aren't we?"

So here we are, with Rothen having a happy moment about being liberated from punishment.

"YEEES! WHOO!" Rothen punched a fist in the air, smiling broadly. "So, can I go fly now or something?"

"NO!" Rafiel and Reyson chorused.

"Aw man!"

**

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**

**~Near Daein Border, midnight~**

I struck swiftly through the air, my wings making almost no sound as I flew. Every so often, I would go out on a midnight fly, passing over all of Tellius. Today, I decided to head over to Daein.

With on last flap of my wings, I landed on a nearby tree branch, taking in my surroundings. I'd never been this close to Daein before. It was dark, somewhat cold, and the moon shone in a starless sky. I leaned back on the tree trunk and closed my eyes, letting the cool air pass over me.

"Find anything?"

"No yet, sir, no."

"Someone's got to be here. Keep looking!"

"Sir!"

My eyes flew open. Voices? Who would be out at this time of night?... other than me, of course. I crouched on the sturdy weight of the branch. Peering down, I noticed there were soldiers, not too heavily armed, prowling around a rock alley. There was large crevasse between the stone. In the crevasse, there was… a person?

Mya.

She barely stepped out of her hiding place, looking around slowly. In her hands, she held a spellbook, I think. Mya looked to the left, gasped, and crouched back in her hiding place. Why was she…?

The soldiers came running, stopping only feet from the crevasse. They looked around and one said, "We're wasting our time. There's no one here."

The other soldier began to walk away as he mumbled, "I know I heard something…"

I shifted on my branch so my ear was directed toward the voices. My sharp hearing picked up Mya's frantic whisper.

"Hush, Yune! Please, don't cry. If they hear you, you'll give us away." Mya's last words were almost cut off by the sound of a bird's loud cheeping. I assumed that the bird was Yune. Mya gasped, and sheltered deeper into her hole.

"Who's there?" Both soldiers turned to peer into the hole. They angled the torches they were holding closer to the crevasse, but only a small orange bird flew out. The men stared back at it, and I noticed unspoken communication going on. One man nodded to the other, and they began to slowly inch toward the hole. I swore I hear Mya whimper.

"Is it the heron?" Another soldier appeared from the far left. His words rang in my ears. Why were they looking for a heron? I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Nah, it was just a bird," the first soldier called. They began to walk away, ever so slowly, but the one on the right didn't follow. He went around the stone wall, going back toward… Mya's hiding place. My muscled tensed, and I gripped my swords tightly, almost pulling them from their pockets. Yes, I fight with swords. Two of them. My mom was a hawk, remember? I can still fight without bringing damage upon myself.

The soldier continued to head back. When he was within inches of Mya, he grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her out of the hole. Mya's book dropped from her hands. I knew I had to get down there, but not yet….

"Ha ha ha! Thought we didn't see you?" Two soldiers surrounded her, and at least three more flanked them. Mya writhed against their grip, but fell silent soon, obviously deeming it useless to struggle. One man faced her and lifted her chin. "Look…silver hair… If it's Queen Daein's daughter, we'll be heroes! Without her, their country is nothing." He slapped Mya's face softly, and muscles tensed again.

The one holding her smiled. "Oh, General Verdone's going to love this. Bind her."He ordered.

"Sir." The men got closer, and I lost Mya in the crowd. I prepared to spring, and I pulled in my wings tight against my back, under my shirt.

"Listen up, lass." Said the first. "If you don't wanna get hurt, don't struggle."

Suddenly, the bird-Yune- cried out, and Mya looked up. With her attention distracted, I jumped down, drew my sword, and slashed the nearest soldier on the neck, which happened to be the one holding her, all in a matter of seconds.

Mya quickly grabbed her spell book from under me. "She's not alone!" One guard shouted.

After that, the soldiers came quickly. I was prepared; I drew my other sword and began to slash left and right, trying to avoid hitting Mya. She tried to help, pushing soldiers down, but I knew she was defenseless without her spells. I wondered what type of mage she was….

Anyway, I easily avoided their lances, even though I was going against the weapon triangle. I even did a few punches and kicked several times even though I was sure to take damage…. before I knew It I had done a flip in the air, and killed the last guard. I stood, and Mya backed me.

Well, I hadn't killed all of them. One was still standing, and he blew his horn to call to reinforcements. This was the time to have Mya cast some spell… whatever type of mage she was.

"Mya." I said, still on alert as the reinforcements came closer.

"Darren…" She looked wary. I nodded at her, and she opened her spellbook. A solider adjacent to me stepped forward, and I intimidated him by sneering, "Got you now!"

"_Ekarif Magae Telodasto Leraka!"_

_Light magic, huh?_ I thought as Mya's light spell erupted across the skies. The men grunted and one shouted, "My eyes!" As they writhed there, I whispered,"Good job, Mya. Let's go."

"Right." I ran ahead of her, and she followed swiftly. "Yune!" she called, and the bird cheeped again. I turned and saw Yune land on Mya's shoulder. She smiled at the bird, and she lifted her eyes to me, still grinning. I nodded and turned back around, running deeper into the forest.

**

* * *

**

**~A forest near Daein~**

"Boy, that was a long run." Mya slumped under the shade of a tree.

"Yeah. Long. I think I got hurt somewhere though…" I rubbed my leg. It was bleeding a lot, and I covered it from Mya's vision. "Mya, how did you get out here?"

Mya lowered her eyes to the ground. "Well, I was going back to Daein, right? And then I heard footsteps behind me. I started to run, but the men caught up with me. I had to hide in that hole and then-" I put a finger to her lips.

"Sssh. Don't worry, I was watching."

"Stalker!" Mya burst out laughing. "You stalker!"

I chuckled. "Just trying to help." I pulled some clothing over my leg again. "So, Mya, why do you think they might have wanted to capture you?"

"I think…" she self-consciously grabbed her upper right arm.

"What?"

Mya pulled her hand away from her arm to reveal what I hadn't seen before, a collection of red swirls. "I think it's because I'm Branded."

"Branded?" I'd never heard of a Branded; just beorc and laguz.

"Yeah. Branded means you're born with beorc and laguz blood. Technically, I'm not a full Branded like my mom. I'm Beorc-Branded, which means I have Branded and beorc blood."

"So…. What laguz was your mom Branded by?"

Mya smiled, as Yune landed on her leg. "Heron. My mom is Heron Branded."

"Wow. That's…. that's cool." I smiled. With Mya having some heron blood in her it felt like we were related. I gently reached out and stroked her brand. "It's pretty."

"Thank you." She picked up the orange bird with two hands. "Have you met Yune yet?" she asked.

"Um… yeah…. hi, Yune." I stroked the small bird's soft feathers. The bird cheeped happily.

Mya smiled at her bird. "She's my best friend, and she used to belong to my mom. She talks to me sometimes, too. I think she understands what I say to her, don't you, Yune?" She kissed the bird, softly.

As Mya played with Yune, I thought about what the soldier had said:

"_Is it the heron?"_

_Why would these random soldiers want anything to do with the herons?_ I thought. I continued to ponder over the matter until Mya gasped. "Oh, Darren! You're injured!"

I glanced at my leg. It was bleeding harder now, and it had soaked through my pants. I swore, trying to dab it up with my shirt.

"No, no," Mya stopped me, "let me handle this." She set Yune in a bed of leaves and crouched on the ground. Placing her hand on my wound, she whispered a few inaudible words. Her hand glowed a bluish color, as did my wound. I felt a surging, tingling feeling, and before my eyes, my wound was healed, as if it had never been there. I rubbed the soft, pale skin in its place. "Thank you," I murmured. I heard a _thump _noise, and when I looked at where Mya had been, she had collapsed, her skin pale.

"Mya." I called her name, caressing her head in one hand, her back in the other. "Mya, wake up!"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she whispered, "I knew….using Sacrifice…. wasn't a good… idea." She giggled softly.

"What's Sacrifice?"

"A skill… only I… can use. I can heal someone else…. by giving some of my health to them…"

"Oh, Mya, you didn't have to do that…" I laid her down again. She breathed shallow. "You really didn't."

"I wanted to… because I trust you, Darren." She smiled at me, and her eyes closed again in peaceful sleep.

Yune crawled up onto my hand, pecking at me. I whispered to her, "Yune, don't fret. Mya's okay." However, even I was worried for her. I leaned against the cool bark of the tree we were under, and waited for sleep, but it did not come.

That was the first night my head started to hurt.

* * *

**Here I go, being all canon again XD Mya and Darren are a very cute couple in my eyes. For those of you who read between the lines, can you tell where this is going?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. (I wish I did...)**


	6. Mya and Shiran

_**Part 1: Gravenvale Advances**_

_**~Mya and Shiran~**_

* * *

Okay, I'm exaggerating. My head didn't hurt that bad. It just kept throbbing endlessly all night, like a really annoying cricket that sits outside your window and makes noise when you're trying to sleep… sometimes, I actually get out of bed and go kill it. Yeah. I'm that cruel to insects.

When the sun rose the next morning, I was just drifting off to sleep. "I swear, if I ever get a chance to go murder the sun…" I murmured, as I stood, brushing dust off my clothing and picking bugs out of my hair. I sat on the cool ground again, and watched Mya. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she slept, and I could hear every soft breath she took. She coughed a bit, and I noticed something clear and wet running from her nose.

_Oh no. She's sick. No, no, not now._ I scooted closer to her body and felt her forehead. Warm. Yep, she had some virus, for sure. I noticed she wasn't as warmly clothed as I had been, and the cool fall air wasn't helping. As soon as I pulled my hand away, her eyes gently opened, and met mine.

"Darren." Her voice was faint and cracked, her golden eyes, glossy. She swallowed slowly, and pristine face contorted into a painful look. "It hurts," she moaned.

"I know." Oddly, I felt an overwhelming need to care for her, but how was I supposed to do that in the middle of the forest?

"Take me home." Her eyes were pleading. "Please."

I sighed, realizing that this was the only option. I couldn't take her back to Serenes; we were too far, plus Dad would have a hissy fit. I could only hope that her parents would be kind enough to let me stay with her, at least for the day. I rose, and held out my hand. "Come on."

Mya slowly stood, moving each limb with precision. She wobbled when she rose to her full height, and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then rubbed it on her dress.

Gross. Nevertheless, I held out my arms in front of me, ready to have her piggyback. "Jump on," I said.

Mya lifted herself onto my back, her arms tight around my neck. She was amazingly light, almost as if she wasn't there. I tightened my grip around her thighs, and shied away from her snot-covered arm. "You ever ridden on a heron before?"

"No."

I smiled, slowly extending my wings around Mya. "Well, you're about to!" I cried, beginning to take a running start, avoiding tree roots and brambles. Against my back, Mya bobbed up and down, but she didn't seem scared.

Up ahead, where the forest ended, I saw the orange sun, and a cliff. Perfect. "Will you scream if I jump off this cliff?"

Mya kicked my leg in protest, making me stumble. I continued to run, however, and said reassuringly, "Mya, I can fly. We're not going to fall. Did you forget that?" Behind me, she nodded her head.

I chuckled. Beorc can be so naïve sometimes, but I wouldn't dare say that to Mya. The cliff was getting closer now, and the land began to slope downward. "Here we go!" I cried, and I jumped.

There was silence. Mya wasn't screaming. I was barely breathing. I was just falling, one with the air. As ground neared, however, I shot up into the air, my ponytail streaming behind me, my wings white and elegant, and Mya shrieked so loud I thought she might make her throat hurt more.

I straightened my path in the blue sky. My body was flat and Mya was leaning on my body in the same way, breathing hard. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I…fine…" she struggled to say. "So…hot…"

I cringed. Was she getting worse? I couldn't have her faint on my back, that would make her too heavy, and we'd _never_ get to Castle Daein.

"Yune!" My attention was diverted by Mya's soft call. The orange bird grew closer, passed right in front of my face, and went around me to Mya. Mya giggled softly.

_She sure does love that bird…. _I thought.

"Keep north." Mya said. "Take you… straight there." Her voice faltered on the last word, and she coughed.

I wondered how mad her parents would be when she arrived at the door sick.

**

* * *

**

**~Daein Keep, around 11 am~**

We had landed about twenty feet from the castle, and it was _huge_. As Mya got off my back, I stared at the immense building. There wasn't much to describe about it, mostly just it was submerged in mountains, some snowcapped. The castle itself (from what I could see) consisted of three levels: The entrance, made entirely of brick and surrounded by gardens; the main level, with balconies galore; and the penthouse, with many stained glass windows. The levels seemed to go up and up into the heavens.

"Mya!_ Mya!_" I turned to the voice's direction. It was a woman who looked exactly like Mya, except slightly older. She was running to Mya, tears streaming down her face. Her older sister, maybe?

"Mother," Mya whispered, as the silver-haired beorc pulled Mya into her embrace. Her mom. _Oh._ I noticed a collection of red swirls on her hand, entangled in Mya's hair. She was Branded, too, I remembered.

"Your father and I were so worried! When you didn't come back to Daein, we put search warrants all over for you! I can't be mad, I'm so glad you're safe….." Her eyes flickered over to me, and widened as she released Mya. "You're… a royal heron?"

"Yes," I bowed and pulled in my wings," Prince Darren of Serenes." As I rose, she curtsied, grabbing at the ends of her red cape.

"Queen Micaiah of Daein, young Darren," she introduced. She stood straight and asked straight out, "You took care of her?"

"Um…somewhat. I helped her beat some soldiers on her way back, and we camped out in the forest for the night, and now she's sick-"

"Did you build a fire?"

"A-a fire?" I stammered. I hadn't thought of a fire. In Serenes, we were never taught to burn trees… How stupid can you get?

Micaiah's eyes grew dimmer. "You didn't, did you…. oh, well. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I bid you good day." She grabbed Mya's shoulder and led her toward the front entrance. Mya shrugged off her mother's hand.

"Can he… stay…while?" Mya asked. Yune cheeped in agreement on Mya's shoulder.

"Um…." The queen's eyes looked at me, obviously thinking. "Um…. yes…. he may stay for the day. And the day _only_," Micaiah said sternly, as Mya opened her mouth to ask for longer.

I thought a while. Should I stay? Dad would really have a hissy fit if I stayed out too late… I shrugged it off. "Thank you, Queen Micaiah."

_**

* * *

**_

_**~Inside Castle Daein~**_  
I'm not even going to begin to describe the massiveness of this castle. The ornate golden stairs gleamed in the sunlight as we climbed from the lower level, the dungeons. The main level was mostly the throne room, with one huge bathroom, and a ballroom. The second floor consisted of the servants' quarters (nothing too fancy) and the third floor was the nobles' floor. Micaiah said if she took the time to show me around the whole castle, it might take all day! "I see," I replied, as I stared into a dark corridor just behind the third floor staircase.

Soon, we reached Mya's room. It was at the end of the hallway, in between Queen Micaiah's and Sothe's (Mya's dad) room. The door was wooden and about as tall as I am (which is a little over five-foot-eight by the way). Mya opened the door and led me inside. Then she went back to her mom, still standing at the doorway. "You're welcome to explore, Darren, just don't get lost. I'm just going to take Mya for a quick bath. Food will come up later, okay?" she smiled, and closed the door behind her.

I sunk into a velvet plush chair adjacent to Mya's canopy bed. Her room wasn't all that big, it was just long. At the far right side of the room was another set of doors which I assumed was a closet, and on the left, a large glass window. Life in Serenes was nothing compared to Daein. Mya even had servants- the one thing I had longed for as a prince. I bet she didn't even get grounded.

Around thirty minutes later, Mya and Micaiah reentered the room, with Mya dressed in her night shift. She sauntered over to the bed, did a twirl sort-of-thing, and collapsed on the ground, giggling. Micaiah helped her stand as she threw back the velvet covers, placing them folded halfway down the bed. The cream-colored sheets were folded only slightly, and Mya lifted herself into the bed, pulling both covers over her. She pushed the canopy back behind the headboard, sat up, and Micaiah kissed her daughter's forehead. "Don't get too riled up, sweetie. Shiran will be in soon with tea and medicine, okay?" Mya nodded, and with a smile at me, Micaiah exited the room.

I outright asked, "Who's Shiran?"

Mya stared at me for a second, and then she gave an 'Aha!' look. She leaned down on the left side of her bed, where I could not see her. She rose again with a piece of parchment, a plank of wood slightly bigger than it, a quill, and an inkwell. She dipped her quill into it quickly, placed the parchment on the wood, scribbled something, and showed it to me. It read:

_Shiran's my retainer, my most loyal servant. He's Branded, and uses light magic. We don't know who his parents are though. The thing that sucks is I'm betrothed to him._

_Bethrothed. _My heart sunk like a rock.

Mya scribbled something else. _I never liked him, trust me. I like you, Darren._

I sighed, relieved. This may have been the first time a realized I actually liked Mya- I just hadn't been able to admit it before.

Mya smiled, and seconds later, the door slammed open. Yune flew in and landed on Mya's headboard, and a young man, slightly older than Mya, carrying a steaming goblet ran in after her. He was dressed way too nicely, with velvet clothing, consisting of colored belts and a white cloak, so I assumed he must be a duke of some sort.

"Shiran," Mya whispered.

…_Shiran?_ This was Shiran? Her _servant_? I could only gape at him as he scrambled toward Mya's nightstand beside her bed. He set down the goblet ever so slowly, and then reached into a bag he was carrying. He pulled out several vials of liquid, set the bag down, and poured the vials out into the goblet one at a time. He stood and grabbed-Was that a staff? – from behind Mya's bed. He murmured a few words, the jewel in his staff shining, as did the goblet. He set down the staff and finally noticed my gaping face. "Who's this?" he asked, he asked, his green eyes staring deeply into mine. I shivered.

"This is Darren," Mya whispered. "He helped me get here."

"Hmph." Shiran continued to stare, and then finally put out his hand in a shake. I stood and grasped it firmly. When I did, he pulled away, almost as if he'd received an electric shock. I narrowed my eyes at him. He glowered at me and asked, "Can I see your ears?"

"My ears? Why?" I questioned, pulling back a lock of hair from my face to reveal my pointy laguz ears. Shiran's eyes widened in shock. "You're a laguz… wow…" his voice had awe, but his face said something entirely different…. Knowing, maybe?

Shiran sat and said, "I've never really met a laguz…. Hm." He stared at me again, with a look I couldn't comprehend. Then he turned away from me, picked up the goblet with steady hands, and handed it to Mya. She took it, reluctantly.

"Come on," Shiran said soothingly, "it'll make you feel better."

Mya shook her head in protest, her silver hair flying around her face. She stopped and sniffed the goblet, and coughed.

"Mya…" he swallowed. "Do I have to do it for you?"

Mya shook her head. She lifted the goblet to her lips and swallowed it all in one motion. Then she went into a horrendous coughing fit that had both Shiran and I on our feet.

Shiran acted first, rubbing Mya's back as she hacked into her sheet. "Ssshhh… sweetie, it's okay…" and the whole time he was giving me a look of such anger that if looks could kill, I'd be dead.

_Two can play at that game, _I thought. When Mya's coughing fit subsided, I drew my sword and pointed it directly at his pale skin on his neck, but I wasn't touching him. He backed up and I said, "Dude, give me a break. Just because you're jealous of me for liking Mya doesn't mean you have to shoot me looks like that." I lowered my sword. "What goes around comes around… Shiran," I sneered. I looked down at Mya, her face looked… oddly proud of me. I smiled at her, and said, "I better get going. Nice being with you, Mya." As I walked out the door, Shiran called my name. I turned back to him. He looked as if he was about to say something, his mouth opened. But then he closed it and he said, "Good day, Darren." He was giving me a look that said _I will get back at you for that._

"Yeah… bye." As I walked down the stairs of the castle, I realized I had just made my first enemy.

I also realized I would be in big trouble when I got home.

**

* * *

**

**~Castle Serenes~**

Slowly, I tried to climb through my bedroom window, without being noticed. The window was only open a crack. As I slid through and landed on my feet, a voice behind me made me jump.

"And where have you been, Darren?"

Oh no.

* * *

**Dun...dun...DUN! Darren's in trouble...**

**Anyway, can anyone guess who Shiran's dad is?**


	7. The Fall of Kilvas

**_Part 1: Gravenvale Advances_**

**_~The Fall of Kilvas~_**

* * *

Naesala stared out into the hills beyond Castle Kilvas, his black hair whipping around his face due to the wind. The sun was setting, thankfully. He'd had a rough day.

Firstly, he had to go find his son, Nare, who ventured off into the seas surrounding Kilvas (and he almost drowned). Second, Nealuchi paid one of his "weekly visits"- awkward with a capital A. Finally, his army had gotten worked up over some business and Naesala had to go handle it.

He hoped he wouldn't have a day like this again. He turned to his spouse, Leanne, who was leaning back in her chair adjacent to his. Her blond hair almost seemed white in the sun, but her eyes, however, were as blue as ever. "Leanne?"

"Yes?" Leanne looked upward into the raven's blue eyes. "Are you worried about something?" Leanne, ever since learning English, had been very questionable. She always had to add a question to whatever she was talking about, especially if it involved her two children. As her English got better, she asked a whole lot more.

"No," Naesala replied. "Just seeing if you were paying attention. You looked kind of spaced out."

Leanne blushed so hard her face looked like a tomato. "I… I do not space out!"

"Sure you don't." Naesala leaned down to be face-to-face with the heron. "You always space out when I kiss you." At that fact, the raven king pecked Leanne lightly on her pinkish lips.

Leanne giggled. "Stop that, you bad boy! How dare you-" Her sentence was cut short by the gentle touch of her spouse's tender lips against hers again. Leanne threw her arms around his neck, crinkling the collar of Naesala's shirt. She relaxed, realizing they never really had any time together, with Naesala doing so much and she just being a fragile little heron, unable to do anything but heal. Gently, she broke the kiss by pushing against Naesala's hard chest.

Naesala looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…. I'm just…. Not able to do anything for you, really," Leanne's voice cracked, and she struggled to keep from crying. "I mean, you have an army to train, a country to rule. And me?" she laughed sadistically, "I'm just a weak little heron."

Naesala pulled Leanne up from her chair and he stared into her shining eyes. "You're not weak. You've done so much…." And he pulled her closer to him and kissed her for a third time.

This time, Leanne did not push away. She grabbed her husband's shirt with her soft fingers, and pulled him closer, shaping her lips around his. _This moment, _she thought, _is just perfect._

However, young Nare was sitting near the balcony door, and he thought it was just revolting. His parents were being all lovey-dovey _again. _"Gross," he whispered, gagging. He never wanted to get to the age when he would start liking girls- but he was thirteen, and his time wasn't very far away.

Nare shook his head, not wanting to think about it. Voluntarily he shivered. The cold evening air wafted in from the balcony, and the thing was, Nare was still wet from his little dip in the ocean. He wrapped his clothed arms around himself, listening to his parents outside. They seemed to be enjoying their little "together time" from what Nare could hear. However, their talk soon faded, and then stopped abruptly. A bit perplexed, Nare peeked around from his hiding spot. His father, from the back, stood in such a way that looked… worried. What was going on?

The raven king strained his ears to hear better. He was sure of it, now. Their uniformed marching, the clanking of their weapons and armor. The sound of battle cries. "To Kilvas!" they called. "Leanne," he urgently said.

Leanne, hearing the same noises, nodded. "I know. Beorc are coming."

Nare drew a silent breath. His mother's words rang in his ears like a horrid memory. _Beorc_. He knew what they were and how they fought. And they probably had wind mages, which meant, if they came, the Kilvas army would be down in two seconds. Nare cringed. Would the beorc…really…..

Naesala now saw the army coming over the rough mountainous hills. Their red uniforms glinted in the late day sun. He silently estimated the army's numbers. _Ten….twenty….._ In all he had counted one-thousand of them, and they weren't all beorc. He heard the cries of feral laguz as well.

Abruptly, Naesala turned on his heels, walking swiftly to exit the balcony. Nare moved his head out of the way to avoid getting hit. "Leanne, I'm going to ready the army. Be safe." Nare watched as his father hurried out of sight. He cringed again. They were really coming.

Leanne sat for a few minutes, in shock. She slowly turned her head toward the hills and gasped. The army was _so close_. She was worried…. She sighed. Naesala would do well. He always did. She rose from her chair and leaned out over to see what was going on. Naesala, as always was commanding the army in a tyrant-like fashion, commanding his ravens to do this and go there. He, however, was the only one un-transformed. Leanne prayed silently for her love." _Uraednezna_, Naesala…._iageno…"_

Nare listened to the sounds of battle below him. His father's yells, the raven's cries….. all the noises he had longed to hear. Not that he liked war, or anything. It was just he wanted to fight. But no. He was a prince of Kilvas, he couldn't fight, he had to set a good example, he was too young….. he hated it. They were all pathetic excuses. Nare stood, determined, and walked out onto the balcony. Today just might be the day.

"Mom?"

"Nare?" Leanne jolted out of her prayer-like stance and turned to her only son. "What?"

Nare nervously fidgeted with his wet jacket. What would his mom say? "Uh…. Mom….. can I go fight?"

Considering this, Leanne looked to the sky thoughtfully. All of a sudden, the warmth on her skin from the sun faded. The clouds covered the sun completely, leaving an ominous aura to the air. Not that it mattered, because night was coming soon. Leanne looked at her son, her normally pristine face seeming shadowed and older due to the lack of light. "Nare…."

"Yes?"

She squeezed her son's shoulder softly. "You can. Go ahead."

Nare's heart began to pound with excitement. He really couldn't believe this was happening! "Thanks, mom, thanks so much!" He hugged her quickly, and then ran with his soft black boots to the edge of the balcony. He lifted himself onto the railing, preparing to dive. The darkness covered him like a blanket, which made it much easier to see once his night vision kicked in.

"Be safe," Leanne whispered.

"I will." And with that he dived.

Nare sliced though the air like a knife, flying so fast he could hardly be seen. His wings were pressed against his back, which made his descent much easier. Milliseconds before he would have slammed into the ground, he shot up into the air like a rocket, feeling his human form melt away and his wings elongate. Within seconds, the once child-like Nare was an immense and powerful raven, very close to the size of his father.

Hovering in the air, Nare scanned the area. The enemy army was within minutes of attack range. The raven army was anxious, flapping their wings in anticipation. His finally found his father's tall figure. Naesala was staring up at him, first with anger but then with a proud face. He nodded at his young son. "I think you're ready," he called up loudly.

Nare landed in the back of the raven army, practically delirious with excitement. This was his moment, his chance. He would show his father that he could protect Kilvas, despite his young age. Proudly, he crowed to the skies.

"Nare."

The raven turned to his left. There stood his friend, Kuroi, who had been a proud member of the raven army for a year now. Though only a year older than Nare, Kuroi had been through some tough battles. He had a thick ribbon tied around his right eye, where he had been shot there by an archer during his training. Kuroi looked more like a scraggly vagrant than a young soldier, but he didn't mind. He fought with all his heart, every battle.

"Kuroi!" Nare de-transformed almost instantly. "Did you see me up there I think that was so awesome right right?" He spoke so fast his words blurred together.

"Yeah, I saw." Kuroi said nonchalantly. "People do that all the time, it's nothing special."

Nare's face heated up. "Hey! Kuroi, you-"

"Ravens! At the ready!"

"Here we go," Kuroi drawled, obeying Naesala's command and formshifting. Kuroi was much smaller than Nare due to him not being a royal laguz, but being small had its advantages. Surprise attacks were his specialty. "Ready, Nare?"

"Yeah," Nare replied, changing form again as well.

All was silent for a few moments, the dark and cold encircling around them. Both armies were wondering which would attack first. But when the cry of a wind mage and Rexcalibur erupted from the enemy side and covered the upper quarter of the huge raven army, all heck broke loose. Battle cries, arrows, and axes came from all over, slicing the air. Nare, feeling intimidated, flatted himself against the wall of the castle behind him. But when a lance almost threatened to cut his wing off, Nare flew into the air.

With an aerial view, seeing when and how to attack was much easier. He could spot a group of ravens attacking wind mages; Kuroi was in that group. Nare lowered himself to about five feet above the battle, wanting to see more of the action.

"Nare, watch out!"

"NARE!"

Nare heard his friend and his father cry out for him. What was wrong? He soon found out when he felt stinging in his underbelly, like one-thousand tiger laguz clawing at his stomach. He struggled to flap, to push higher, but instead he slowly floated to the ground, formshifting back to his human state.

His stomach burned as he lay on his back. He barely lifted his head to see at least ten arrows sticking out of his stomach, blood oozing out from each hole. Nare screamed in agony. He wished he hadn't gone so close. Maybe his father was right; he _was _too young. He could he have been so stupid and careless?

Suddenly he felt every arrow being ripped from his body. Nare did not only scream, he thrashed and writhed. As the air passed over his open wounds, the stinging steadily grew stronger. Nare bit his lip to keep from screaming again. He was crying, not only for himself, but for his parents, for his country. He let had let them down…. All of them…..

A wet cloth was soon placed over Nare's bleeding stomach by strong hands. He was flipped over onto his stomach roughly, and the taste of dirt and grass filled his mouth. The young raven clawed his fingers into the dirt, dragging them down. The pain was not in his stomach now; it was all over his body, from his head to the tips of his wings. He felt the cloth being tied on his back, and he was flipped over again. The face that met his was the stern face of a soldier of the enemy country. "If you don't want to die," the man whispered, impatience in his voice, "you'll be quiet and not call out to your little friends over there."

Nare nodded, but he actually wished he was dead. _Kill me… _he prayed inside his head,_ I don't deserve to live._

The soldier smiled, evilly. "Good little raven prince." He hoisted Nare over his shoulder and began to walk north. The sounds of battle were no more. As Nare stared back as his country, he heard his mother scream, his father yell, and the sounds of wounded ravens scattered across the battlefield. He lifted his eyes to the flag. However, the flag was no longer Kilvas's; the flag was now red, with a golden X on it. Nare closed his eyes. He couldn't believe the fact he did not want to be true.

Kilvas had fallen.

**~Gravenvale Keep, midnight~**

Nare opened his eyes for the first time in what felt like days. He recognized the sounds around him, sounds of roaring and crying. Where was this, prison?

He sat up. The cloth was still tied around his stomach. He looked around the room he was in. The sounds were not coming from the room, but from smaller rooms around the one his lay in. They were obviously the cries of laguz but they weren't….normal.

"Ah, you're awake."

Nare's head whipped around to the throne behind him. In the shadows, he could make out a male figure. The figure stepped out into the moonlight. He was smiling oddly, his perfect white teeth complimenting his green eyes. His brown hair wasn't very long, and only reached his chest. His clothing, however, was typical for a beorc. A button-down shirt he wore, and straight plain pants, both a forest green. His hooded cloak was the deepest of black. The man bowed deeply. "Good evening, raven prince. I am Prince Verdone of Gravenvale. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He rose, staring into Nare's wide eyes.

The raven was not used to being so formal, yet he stood and bowed himself, though he rose up immediately due to the pains in his stomach. "Sorry," he mouthed.

Verdone nodded, understanding. "Yes, I've heard about your little incident. I'll make sure it won't happen again. See, Nare," he stood over the raven now, "here you are our little guest. You are able to go and do as you please, without anyone telling you what to do. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Verdone smiled soothingly.

Nare considered this for a moment. Yes, he had always wanted to have more freedom, but did he want it here? He wasn't sure. This place seemed very far away from Tellius. Would he ever see his parents again? "Yes," Nare whispered.

"Hmmm….. I figured that. That's why I am going to make you a general of my raven army, Nare."

Nare's heart thumped inside his chest. A general? Of his own army? He couldn't believe his luck.

Verdone smiled again. "So do you accept?"

"Yes…. I mean, yes sir!" Nare's voice brightened. He could be a general here, couldn't he? His dad nor his mom weren't there to boss him around. Yet, somewhere inside him, something told him that this wasn't safe, he had to go back….

"Good." Verdone reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small felt patch, marked with Gravenvale's flag. He licked it, and stuck it onto Nare's jacket.

Nare held up a finger. "Hold on. I'll only do this if you promise my parents are safe."

Verdone, formulating a decisive plan inside his mind, said, "Yes. I promise." That was true, but not many other things he told Nare would be. Such as the reason for the upcoming war on Tellius… that would be secret until it was the right time.

Nare smiled. As long as his parents were safe he had no other worries.

_Don't do this, Nare…. Go back…_

Nare bit his lip to keep from screaming, as Verdone looked at him curiously. The raven blinked. That voice in his head…. Wasn't his….. he knew the voice but couldn't place his finger on it.

"Everything alright, Nare?"

"Yes." Nare pushed the voices deep inside his head, unwilling to hear them again. "So I'm General Nare, now?"

"Indeed…. Welcome to the army, General Nare."

* * *

_Ancient Language Translation_

_Uraednezna_, Naesala…._iageno…- _Be safe, Naesala, please...

_

* * *

_

**I can just imagine what all of you are thinking... what happened to Darren? Well, every so often I'll do a enemy chapter or a chapter when a nation falls. These chapters will always be third person. So, Darren will be back next chapter, don't worry all you fangirls out there XD**

**Verdone reminds of Lyon from FE: Sacred Stones. Just a little.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.**


	8. The War Begins

**_Part 1: Gravenvale Advances_**

**_~The War Begins~_**

* * *

I turned over in my bed again, waiting for dusk to come. On my stomach, I stared at my room. Not too big, not too small…. Just perfect. I'd been here for the last two days anyway, so I might as well memorize my room.

What, you thought my dad would let me off the hook after sneaking out at midnight, befriending a Branded, _and_ going off to a strange country? Please! I don't even think 'letting off the hook' is in my dad's vocabulary.

Not that he knows all that stuff, anyway. When I reentered the castle two days ago, Dad was so furious all he could think to do was ground me. He didn't want an explanation, no, not then. He said I was grounded for the next week and stormed out of my room. Uncle Rafiel managed to get Reyson to lower my sentence to two days, and that he would have a talk with me at dusk on the second day.

The sun finally set behind the clouds, and Rothen opened the door a crack, peeking his head through. Right on time.

"Hey, Darren, Reyson wants you downstairs. Now." He shut the door hurriedly.

Smiling just a tad, I walked out the room behind Rothen. This was going to get good.

The dinner table seemed bigger than normal when I sat down. Maybe that was because there was no food on it. Just Reyson's glaring eyes staring deeply into mine. On the other side of my dad was Rafiel, smiling slightly. On either sides of me were anxious Selene and overly bored Rothen. I opened my mouth to begin my tale, but dad raised a hand and cut me off.

"I've already heard about the run-in with the beorc children. Mya and Ellie, their names were?" He looked up at me.

I realized Dad had made a small mistake in his retelling. "Yes, Mya and Ellie. But Mya's not a beorc. She's a Branded."

"Branded?" Reyson's eyes widened, and I felt three other pairs of eyes staring at me. "Which laguz?"

I smiled, wondering what reaction I would get from this. "A Heron."

There was absolute silence after that. Now there were _four _pairs of eyes staring at me. I gulped and continued again. "Um… she's not even a full Branded. Her mom is Branded and her dad is a beorc. It's what she calls 'Beorc-Branded.'" I looked up at my dad. I could almost see his mind clicking down the choices of which Heron Branded and beorc would be together, and his eyes brightened when he did.

"Micaiah and Sothe," he said in awe.

"Those are the ones."

"Wow… cool!" Selene patted me on the back. "Hey, if you can't like a heron, a Heron Branded is the next best thing."

I nudged her hard. "Selene, I never said I liked her."

"But you do, don't you?" Rothen was obviously staring at me, but I couldn't meet his eyes. "And don't tell me 'she's just a friend'; I'd know you're lying. Now would you continue with the rest of your adventure, please?"

I took a deep breath, and started from when I had to save Mya from some soliders ("A knight in shining armor," Selene whispered) and afterward, with Mya's bird Yune and her skill Sacrifice.

"Wait….. did you just say _Yune_?" Reyson interjected.

"Yes, why?"

"That's weird. Because-" but a nudge to the side by Rafiel prevented him from saying anything more.

Shrugging, I continued to tell about Mya getting sick and heading to Castle Daein and that run-in with Shiran, Mya's servant.

"You went into the _castle_?" This time Reyson was on his feet. "You showed him your _ears?"_

"He's Branded!" I said in my defense.

"Yes, he may be, but Branded have a tendency to, well, not be exactly _supportive_ of laguz." He paused and sat down. "What Branded is he, anyway?"

"I don't know."

Reyson put his head in his hands. "And that just makes it _so_ much better!" he said sardonically.

Rafiel patted Reyson's back. Reyson shoved his hand away.

I laughed, but only a little. Reyson and Rafiel were total polar opposites, but Dad seemed _really _mad right then. He didn't really have time to get purely angry because just minutes after, who better to come through the dining hall door than Naesala, with Leanne trailing behind.

"Uncle Naesala!" Selene sprang from her chair and gave the raven a hug. "Did you get my flowers?"

"Yes," he said tiredly, "They were pretty, Selene."

My dad raised his head from his hands. His eyes were so threatening when they reached Naesala. "Naesala, I didn't say you were welcome here."

"I know," he avoided Reyson's menacing stare. "But it's a bit of an emergency."

"What do you mean?" I butted into the conversation. An emergency? The only thing I could think to be an emergency for Naesala was something to have to do with Nare or his country… or both… my muscles tightened.

"I mean…. Kilvas is now occupied by the enemy country of Gravenvale and they took Nare hostage."

Leanne burst into heart-wrenching sobs. She laid her head on her husband's shoulder, and he patted her softly. That was actually what I felt like doing. Kilvas? Under the control of an enemy country? Suddenly I realized something. The soldiers I fought that night with Mya… "What color were their uniforms?"

"Red, with golden accents…." Leanne replied through her sobs.

"Holy Ashera," I said, in shock. The army that attacked Kilvas was the_ exact_ same group that went for Mya that day….. the same men the were looking for a heron….

"Did they say anything about herons? Anything at all?"

"Herons…" Naesala looked thoughtful. "No, why?"

I felt the staring on me again. "Um…. Because the men who attacked Mya were talking were talking about looking for a heron laguz." I was getting onto something. "And I guess having a heron Branded was the next best thing. Or maybe…. Maybe they just want the royals of each country! Maybe, since Mya's the Princess of Daein, and Nare, the Prince of Kilvas, and us herons are all royals…"

A sentence a soldier made echoed in my mind. "_Without her, their country is nothing."_

"Their country is nothing…." I mumbled.

"I see what you mean." Rothen stood. "Gravenvale wants to take the royals of each Tellius country hostage, or possibly do something else with them. Without the royals, the country is in a state of chaos and fear….."

"The perfect time for a war! That's it! Gravenvale is planning war on Tellius!" Selene shouted in conclusion. "And the reason they just want the princes and princesses is because if they die, there's no one to take the throne, and anyone is open to take it."

"Whoah, let's not jump to conclusions here," Naesala said.

Reyson eyed his former friend. "It's not jumping to conclusions. I've thought it through, and it all makes sense. It's the same enemy going for the same prize. And…." Reyson groaned. "Now we're _involved. _I didn't want to be involved in another war _again_."

"It's not a war until somebody fights," Rothen announced, "and I think that's our job."

"Oh no it's not!" Selene spat at her brother. "I'm a heron who can't fight. You're a heron who can't fight. Leanne, and Reyson, and Rafiel can't either. Naesala can't because of the stupid blood pact-"

"I destroyed the blood pact," he corrected.

"Okay…" Selene blushed with embarrassment. "So you can fight. But still, our only fighters are Darren and Naesala. We. Won't. WIN!"

"Hey, hey, I've got an idea!" Rothen smiled broadly. "We herons could all sing the Galdr of Death and murder everybody on the field."

"_ROTHEN!" _Everybody screamed simultaneously, while I put my head in my hands, laughing. "Is there even a Galdr of Death, Rothen?"

"Okay, okay! Nevermind!" he laughed in spite of himself. "Anyway, my real idea is that we go get help form Phoenicis. You know, our little friend Sera?"

"Oh yeah, Sera." Sera is Tibarn's thirteen-year-old daughter. She's like Selene, only younger.

"Or we could get some help from Ellie and Mya," Selene interjected.

"Yes…" Rothen looked around the room at the elder laguz. "What do you guys think?"

"Hey, it's you guys' war, not mine," Naesala said, but Leanne nudged him and said, "You've got a good plan there. We'll help in any way we can, but we also have to help out at Kilvas, so don't expect us to be there all the time."

I nodded. Rothen gestured to Reyson and Rafiel. "Dad? Reyson? What about you?"

"If you ever need a healer, I'm your man," Dad said, leaning back in his chair.

Rafiel smiled, "Ditto."

"Yes! We have an army, we have an army!" Selene chanted.

"Well, actually, it's not an army, it's more of a group- -what was that?" Rothen rushed to the window behind Rafiel. From what I could see, and hear, there was a bunch a loud explosions and LOTS of smoke, somewhere far off in the forests of Begnion. Rothen looked back at me, an expression of pure malicious excitement on his face. "Commander Darren?" he asked. "Now what?"

Commander Darren… I liked that. "Let's go fight a war."

**~Begnion, a forest~**

"We're lost!" Selene cried, sitting on a mossy rock. "I'm tired and I wanna go home. We're lost."

"We are not lost," I assured, peeking around in the brambles. I closed my eyes and tried to let my senses take over. The fighting was not far off. "Just north," I ordered, opening my eyes, "is where we should go."

"Yay, more walking," Selene mumbled, stomping off in front of me. Behind me were Rothen, Naesala, Leanne, Reyson, and Rafiel. We all had our wings pulled in tightly against our backs as a safety precaution. As we trudged ahead, I was watching the star-struck skies intently for signs of Hawk Princess Sera, would said she would be joining us a soon as possible.

Before long we were at a clearing where we could take a break. I lay on the ground, staring at the moon and trying to ignore the battle din around me. Selene, sitting on the grass, took off her soft slippers and rubbed the soles of her feet. "I'm going to have blisters in the morning," she scoffed.

"Stop complaining," Rothen scolded. "You are such a child!"

"Am not."

"Am too.

"Am not!

"Am TOO!"

"My goodness! Gosh, you haven't changed a bit," said a familiar voice. I turned over onto my stomach and lifted my head. Sure enough, there was Sera, her tawny wings keeping her afloat. Her light brown hair was its regular style- two ponytails at the nape of her neck. Her clothes were a bit indescribable, but let's just say they were mostly brown and decorated. Sera landed, crossing her legs. "I thought I'd get here and _not_ see you two fighting…. guess I was wrong."

"SERA!" Selene ran up and gave her second glomp of the day.

"Hey, Selene… can't…. breathe…..get off, Selene!" Sera flew out from under Selene, leaving the heron flat on her face.

"Hah! Serves you right, _otomi!" _Rothen was laughing, but he helped Selene up. Selene slapped him on the face, and began to yell at him in the ancient tongue.

I shook my head. "Guys, let's not fight before we actually fight! Yeesh…" Those two would win the contest _Who Can Fight Your Sibling For The Longest._

"Yes, please! The fighting is this way, and I believe it's far from over." Sera flew toward the east. "Come on!"

We all followed orderly, except Selene, who was dragging Rothen by the ear.

* * *

"This is definitely war."

"Uh-huh."

Selene, Rothen, and I stared out at the battlefield. It was quite hard to tell friend from foe, but it was easy to tell who was winning. The enemy wasn't.

Naesala sprang into action, formshifting. "I'll handle the east side! Sera, you follow me!" Sera ran forward, following Naesala. She formshifted, and I caught on tiny glimpse of her tailfeather before she disappeared into the crowd.

I, being the supposed commander, began to send out commands. "Selene, Rothen, Leanne, Reyson, Rafiel, you stay back and move forward to heal _only if you need to_."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Rothen saluted me, his brown eyes shining with excitement.

I nodded at him, drew both of my swords and ran into battle.

**~Player Phase~**

The enemy-wearing red and golden- largely outnumbered our team. Sera, Naesala and I were only three compared to the deploy army's twenty. However, I knew my strategy. Only attack axe-holders, avoid wind magic. Easy, right? Well, it would not have been had it not been for a certain light mage.

"_Hirake!" _At first I wondered who that was. But from the east of the field, I could make out a flash of light, and in front of that light, sliver hair…

"Mya!" I called her name, and ran over to her. She bowed her head in conclusion to her spell. And she looked up at me. "Ah, Darren!"

"Mya… you're better! What…. what are you doing here?"

"Well," she started nonchalantly, "after you left, I got in a huge fight with Shiran. He was so mean to you. And, well, I told him I didn't love him. That got him mad. He called you"- she swallowed-"he called you a filthy sub-human."

"Not that I care," I mumbled. I didn't care. Laguz prejudice and slavery still goes on, even though the Mad King's War ended. I would just have to face that I wouldn't be liked.

"Oh…." Mya looked down. "Wow, I thought you'd be upset."

"Nope."

"Well… okay!" she continued. "Anyway, Shiran said my father wouldn't approve of me being with you. And he didn't. So, with Mom's help, I escaped Daein."

"Um…wow." I was in shock, actually. Micaiah willingly let her child run away from Daein to flee her father's oppression?

"Yeah… Ike let Ellie come with me, and Sayuki, too."

"You mean Sanaki?"

"No, Empress Sayuki. Sanaki's daughter." Mya lifted her head and pointed west. "There she is over there."

My mouth dropped open at the empress's appearance. She was so _young. _She couldn't have been any more than fourteen. Her hair, purple, flew around her face when she cast a Fire spell. Her clothing….. ack, I can't even begin to describe them. Lots of red and yellow and orange and purple. Sayuki saw me staring and her eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, Yuki, he's a friend!" Mya called to the child. Sayuki nodded and went back to her enemy.

"Um…" I stammered. "She's so…."

"Young? Yeah, we know. Hey look, it's Ellie!"

A blur of white pegasus and blue-green dress flew by me, knocking every enemy adjacent to Ellie down and out. She stood in front of one last archer, towering above him on her pegasus.

(_Ellie's Skill Activation: Critical, Stun)_

Holding her lance high in the air, her pegasus reared on its hind legs. The flying horse flew upward in a graceful flip, and as they descended, Ellie gave a powerful blow in the chest to the enemy.

"Whoohoo! Go, Ellie!" Mya called from behind me. Ellie twirled her lance around in her fingers and smirked.

"Watch this, Darren." I turned from Ellie to Mya. She ran to an enemy in front of her, and opened her spellbook.

(_Mya's Skill Activation: Adept, Critical)_

Holding her book in her left hand, she used her right hand to touch the air in front of her in a series of points, creating intricate little designs of light. She spun around once, lifting her right hand in the air. "_Thani!" _she cried. A burst of light rose from her hand, spread out around the enemy, and collapsed in. She preformed the action again, this time spinning the other way. The enemy, who had been holding a dagger, dropped it and fell to his knees.

Mya smiled. "See?... Darren, watch out!"

Instinctively, I slashed my sword behind me, hearing a grunt. I turned away from Mya, facing the enemy, a mage, who was bleeding in his stomach. "Don't even think about sneaking up on me again," I sneered.

(_Darren's Skill Activation: Astra)_

I flipped both my swords around in my hands. Using one sword at a time, I preformed a series of strikes on the mage. On the fourth blow, I flipped into the air, landed where I had started, and struck a final time. The guy was dead before I'd even given the final blow.

**~Enemy Phase~**

All of a sudden, I felt a warm, wet breath upon my face where the mage had been. My eyes widened when I realized I was standing in front of a dragon, or a wyvern, if you want to call it that. I stepped back involuntarily, and on top of the wyvern I could see a brown haired girl, twirling an axe.

"Do you really think you can beat our little part of Gravenvale's army?" she sneered.

"Um…. Yes." I did think that. Was this girl crazy?

"Hmph. If you can beat me, I might prove you worthy." She reared her wyvern, in which it roared immensely.

I really wasn't up to fighting her, but hey, why not? "Let's go." I agreed.

(_Darren's Skill Activation: Nihil, Resolve)_

I went for a powerful upward strike, in which the girl returned, leaving my arm with a small gash. Going around her, I leapt into the air, giving a downward slash in which she cried out this time.

(_Darren's Skill Activation: Cancel)_

Taking my chances, I drew both swords in a criss-cross fashion and jumped into the air again, this time, accidentally revealing my wings. After one last strike, I swore and landed, pulling my wings in tighter this time.

The girl, bleeding badly on one side, gaped at me. "What…. What color were those wings?"

"Light brown," I lied. After learning that Gravenvale was having a heron hunt, I had to keep my identity secret.

She continued to stare at me, her head cocked to one side. Then her eyes narrowed. "A sub-human. Hmph. Your skill is good, and I would join you if weren't so wild." With that, she rose on her wyvern and flew away.

Wild? Did she just call me_ wild?_ I rolled my eyes and sighed. "How would you like it if I called you that, little missy?" I mocked, placing my swords back in their pockets.

The battlefield was empty. For what I could see, all that was left was lone weapons, and a good dozen of dead bodies. Mya ran up next to me, breathing hard. "That…. was…..tiring…."

"Yeah…"

"Um…. Guys?" Sayuki spoke, her voice trembling. She pointed in the direction of the forest ahead of us. Out of that forest stepped a girl, about Rothen's age. Her tunic-like dress was mostly blue, with yellow accents on the bottom. Her leggings were light blue and her slippers were red, as were her eyes, which were staring at all of us with intense hatred. She had red marks on her forehead and cheeks, and the blackest hair. Her ears…. I couldn't see them clearly, but they looked like they were pointed.

"So, you've defeated my part of the army." Her voice was somewhat quiet, yet intimidating.

"Um…" Mya was at a loss for words. There was complete silence in the battle clearing, except for the sound of our breathing.

The girl frowned. "Speechless, hm?... You'll really be speechless when you see what I can do." Almost in the blink of an eye, the girl was no longer a girl…. She was a huge black dragon.

"What the…" Rothen stammered from somewhere behind me.

"Why…. Why is a dragon of Goldoa working for Gravenvale?" Mya asked, her hands trembling at the size of the dragon.

The dragon said, "It is to avenge my father…the former king of Daein took him from me and my mother… and now all of Tellius is sided with that horrible country. This war on Tellius will end in Gravenvale's favor, and those who favor Tellius will be wiped from the continent. Prepare… prepare to die."

My heart started to pound double time. This girl was a dragon laguz, and we were so unprepared. She could wipe us out in a matter of seconds. A large black ball energy began to appear at the edge of the dragon's mouth. I did the only thing I could think to do.

"RUN!" I shouted, but nobody ran. They were all too shocked to move. Suddenly my father stepped forward.

"Your…your father was Rajaion?"

The girl stopped her attack, and formshifted to her human state. "R-Rajaion…. was… my father….. Ashnard…. Took him…. From me…"

Reyson's face softened. "Young dragon, we tried….. my sister and I tried to save your father, but he was warped too much. The feral laguz potion fed to him made it impossible to save his life."

Tears fell from the girl's cheeks. "You…. you lie!" She shrieked. "You….gah…." she turned away from us, and began to walk away. "Gravenvale will win the war, and you all will pay the price for the father's death." She shifted back to her dragon state, and flew off into the moonlight.

**~Serenes Forest~**

Our team walked slowly through the forest to the castle. We who had been fighting were tired and scratched. Sera had flown back to Phoenicis already, so she was no longer with us. However, Mya, Ellie, and Sayuki were going to stay here in Serenes for a while.

I was wondering about the dragon girl. Apparently her father was killed by a king of Daein named Ashnard, and she wanted revenge. But why on us? We didn't have anything to do with Rajaion's death.

I sighed. This night had been rough.

"EEEEEK!" Selene's scream pierced the air. "There was a ghost….. I saw a ghost!"

Rafiel went over to his daughter and stooped down in front of her. "Selene, um…. What did it look like?"

Why was Rafiel even asking that question? Ghosts aren't real, I know it.

Unless…

"She was thin. Her hair was pinkish-blond, and her eyes were gray. She wore all white, and she moved so fast, she seemed like a ghost!" Selene was shaking in Rafiel's arms.

Of course. It was Anya, the heron child of Leanne and Naesala who was sleeping in Serenes. Her hair color was hers and hers alone, there was no way that it could have been anyone else.

Leanne spoke what I was thinking. "It's Anya. She's awake now."

"Anya? Who's-" Mya started to say, but her question was answered when Anya came out from behind a tree in front of us. Selene was right; she did look like a ghost. Her skin so pale, her bare feet. Her eyes stared around at all of us. When her gaze stopped on Leanne, her eyes filled with tears. "_Ahah! Akatihsamiinokod, Ahah!" _After that she spoke so rapidly in the ancient tongue that I could barely understand her.

Leanne rubbed the young girl's back. "It's okay, Anya. You're safe. It's been three years, but I only did this for your sake."

"_Otokiagan?" _she asked sweetly.

"Yes. I felt you were becoming too much like a raven, so I sent you to the Serenes forest to sleep there. The forest would speak to you and make you more like a heron."

"_Iah."_ Anya moved over to her father, and tried her best English. "I know… Nare is."

"You know where he is, Anya?" Naesala stooped down, taking his thirteen year old daughter's face in his hands. "Where?"

"Gravenvale," she said. "I want him to come back; he would not listen to my voice." She ran her fingers through her long hair and continued, remembering her English. "He a general there."

Naesala blinked. Mya gasped. Rothen moaned and said, "You can't be serious."

"I'm serious, Rothen." Anya stared at her cousin like they hadn't been apart for three years.

"Anyway…." Selene started to walk toward the castle, "let's continue this little chat inside, okay? I'm freezing."

As our little group walked toward the warmth of the castle, I thought about today.

We're in a war we have to fight.

There's no backing down now.

* * *

_Ancient Language Translation_

_Otomi-sister_

___Ahah! Akatihsamiinokod, Ahah!- Mother! Where were you, Mother?_

_____Otokiagan?- That long?_

_____Iah.- Yes._

_____

* * *

_

**Two days, one computer, and so. much. TYPING! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.**


	9. Love, Life, and the Twilight Brigade

**_Part 1: Darren_**

**_~Love, Life, and the Pursuit of Twilight Brigade~_**

* * *

"Are you homesick again, Anya?"

"Maybe a little…"

I groaned. Anya, ever since coming here, tended to be a little needy, and especially more so since Leanne and Naesala had gone back to Kilvas. We were sitting in Selene's room, with Selene sitting on her bed next to Anya, and I at the foot of the bed. The first thing Anya did when she got here was go straight up to Selene's room and start crying, because she was "homesick" . However, Reyson had carefully and calmly explained to her that she was going to stay with the herons. But did the thirteen-year-old brat listen? No!

I mentally slapped myself for thinking thoughts about Anya like that. All she wanted was some attention. With her brother and her parents gone, she obviously felt that she had no one that understood her. I got on my knees at the foot of the bed, watching Anya and Selene. They were talking in hushed tones, so it was hard to understand them. Anya, who had put her hair into a thick braid, was starting to finger with her new dress. "It's itchy," she complained.

"It is not itchy," Selene reassured, "now come on, let's get you ready for bed." She threw a warning glance at me, to say _get out._

I shrugged and left the room. When I closed the door, I leaned against it for a few moments, listening to Anya and Selene. Soon I heard a door slam from inside the room, and crying on the bed. I slowly opened the door, though Selene had warned me against it. Sure enough, there was Anya, crumpled into a ball on the bed. I carefully entered the room as to not have Selene hear from the door she was behind. Sitting on the bed, I watched as Anya unrolled from her ball and her cloudy eyes met mine.

"Hi, Darren," she said.

"Hey, Anya. I heard you missed your parents."

"_Iah._ And my brother too. It's just so hard for me… you know, after being sent off to a forest for three years, and to awaken to find that Kilvas is down and Nare's gone? It hurts." She began to curl back up into a ball again, but I sat her up slowly, using both of my hands.

"Why…?" The look on her face was purely confused.

"Why what? Why did I sit you up? Because you just ate, and lying down isn't good for you," I joked.

A smile tugged at Anya's lips, but her face soon grew sober again. "Um… Darren?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever get the feeling…that someone needs your help, but you can't reach them?"

"Um…." That left me speechless. What was she getting on to? "No, I can't say I have."

Anya looked down at the floor. "Well… it's Nare. I'm worried for him. Sometimes I can hear him crying to me, and just a couple hours ago-" she gasped abruptly.

I lifted my head to the door. Selene was standing there, a few towels in her hand. "Darren…. Get out."

"But-"

"I. said. OUT!" she pointed at the door. I hesitated, then flew to the door and slammed it quickly behind me.

"Yeesh. I get on everyone's nerves, don't I?" I mumbled as I sauntered to my room.

After going through my nightly routine of washing up, taking off my jacket and only having on my pants, I normally would have collapsed into bed. But today, after the battle, I just felt… weird. Slipping on my jacket again, my feet involuntarily carried me to the balcony, just through the glass doors to the left of my room.

It was a clear and moonless night, only the stars twinkled against the black sky. The trees ruffled in the late-night wind, almost as if they were whispering to each other. Far off in the distance, I swore I could have heard the ocean waves, slamming against the shore. Never in my sixteen years of living had I seen, heard, and felt such beauty. I closed my eyes and began to expand my wings, resisting the urge to go on a midnight fly again. I felt the soft feathers brush against my back and then explode out into the air.

"Darren."

I whipped around toward the door that I had left open. There stood my silver-haired maiden, Mya of Daein. Her hair whipped around her face in the wind, streaking across her eyes. She stepped forward, a foot closer to me. "I just wanted to see where you were."

"Oh. You're welcome to join me if you want, Mya."

She nodded eagerly. "It's really pretty out here, and I really wanted to spend tonight with you." She blushed as she said this.

With my face heating up, I grabbed Mya's hand and pulled her around to face the forest. Her eyes widened in wonder as she took in all the beauty of the night. She shivered. "It's cold, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" A bit entranced, I slowly took off my jacket and laid it around Mya's shoulders. She jumped slightly when my hands touched her shoulders.

I clasped my hand behind my back. "Did I scare you?"

"No! It's… I don't know. After coming in from the battle, I felt…. Changed. Different. Like…." She struggled to find her words.

"Just weird?" I finished for her.

"Yeah…. That would be it." Her face flushed again. She put her hands on her cheeks to hide the redness. I slowly pried her fingers away.

"Stop trying to hide things from me," I told her. "Don't be afraid to be yourself."

She nodded. If she had said something else, I wouldn't have been sure because just then, my head felt like it was on fire.

One thousand rocks being pelted at me. A million voices screaming in my ears. That's how it felt. That headache was back again, and worse than before. I shut my eyes in pain, grabbing my head as if it were the last thing to keep me alive. Before long I was crumpled on the floor, and that seemed to help. Suddenly the pain stopped, just like that. I opened my eyes, seeing Mya leaning over me, mumbling incoherently. Her fingers were at my temples, rubbing them a bit. Finally she sat back, worry on her face.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay…." I sat up slowly. "You used Sacrifice, didn't you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said proudly, helping me stand, "before I left, Mom taught me how to use less energy when healing someone. So I hardly feel faint at all.

"But you," she continued. "You need to tell your dad about this. These headaches you've been having…. could be dangerous."

"I'll tell… eventually."

She seemed satisfied by that answer. Shrugging my jacket closer to her shoulders, she sighed. "I wonder if it's not just you. I wonder if it's all the other herons too."

Mya's saying that sparked an understanding. If it really was all the herons…. Then what would be the cause of it? I remembered back when I had my first headache… and now this one…..

They both happened right after a battle.

"Mya, do you think fighting has something to do with it?"

Her eyes darkened. "It's a possibility. I remember when Mom told me about the last continent-wide war. The herons and a girl named Mist all collapsed due to Lehran's Medallion being affected by the war. I wonder if…." She trailed off, lost in thought.

"But wait," I continued. "Wasn't there some sort of dark god inside the medallion that caused all that?"

Mya looked confused. "I don't remember that…."

"Huh." I did know something Mya didn't. If this 'dark god' was still inside the medallion, and it had something to do with herons and fighting and war….

"Mya, I'll be right back," I said, sprinting off the balcony. The medallion…. I had to find it. It was somewhere my dad's room… I just didn't know where.

Reyson's room was basically a penthouse, because it covered the entire fourth floor. It had one bed, one bathroom, and that was about it. The rest was empty space. The no-show moon wasn't helping me as I scoured through my dad's drawers, throwing clothes and jewelry all over the floor. Finally a little bronze-blue item caught my eye in the corner of the fifth drawer I went through. I picked it up slowly as not to drop it.

The medallion. I had found it.

Even as I held it in my hands, the medallion had no painful effects on me, which was weird. It didn't even seem to be glowing, as it normally did. As I slowly placed the medallion back in it place and began to clean up my Dad's room, I wondered if I was wrong. Did the medallion even have anything to do with my agonizing headaches? Maybe it was food poisoning or something. But… if it was all the herons, what was the cause? I didn't get it. This war just made my life ten-thousand times more complicated.

As I reentered the balcony of my room, Mya met me with a questioning look. "Well? What was that all about?"

"I found the medallion."

"And….?"

"Nothing. I mean…. It's like the medallion can only affect me when it wants to."

"Weird." Mya shrugged. "This is weird. I think we should bring it up to the rest of the herons."

"Yeah…."

"But… before we do that…." Mya looked at me, her eyes pleading. "Sing for me."

"_Inan_!" I shrieked in the ancient tongue. "What? I can't, I mean-" Mya grabbed my shoulders.

"Calm down, Darren. Come on, please?"

I took a deep breath. Did I ever tell you guys that I absolutely despise singing? Of course I did. However, at that moment, Mya's pleading voice melted my defenses. It was as if…. I had to sing for her. "Alright."

I knew which galdr to sing. It was the one I had learned when I was about ten years old, and my dad taught it to me.

_Ehamon….aohnimi…  
Ohmo…. Aahti…  
Inototahmon..  
Ye… sas…_

"Beautiful…" Mya smiled. "But… how did you get the bells to ring?"

"What bells?" I asked, but then I realized. "Oh, that! You can hear bells in almost every galdr, depending on the person's heart. You must have a very pure heart, Mya, to be able to hear them."

"Wow…thank you, Darren." Her hand, slow and unsure, slipped into mine. I felt my face flush deeply.

"You're welcome," I managed to say. My eyes slid over to her face, and she was looking at me, her golden eyes shining.

"I'm so glad I got to spend today with you."

"Yes…." With my heart pounding, I turned to Mya and took her face in my hands. "Me too. And no matter what happens, I'll always be there to protect you, Mya."

Wet tears fell down Mya's face. "You don't have to, Darren…."

"Yes, I do." With that, I pulled her face closer to mine and I kissed her on her forehead, slowly, but quickly at the same time. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and we stood there like that for a moment, not thinking, just being. When we broke apart, our hands touched again, and I said, "If nothing else matters in this war, you will always be the one thing that does. You're a princess and, well, I'm a prince. Don't the two always care for each other? Such as when I saved you from the soldiers and you healed me in the woods. "

"…I agree. And I feel the same." Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she flashed a joyful smile at me and left the balcony, leaving me alone with myself, my thoughts, and the stars, which twinkled in rejoicing.

* * *

**~Next morning~**

"You, too?" Selene asked as we sat down for breakfast the next day.

"Yeah… me too. Somehow, I knew it would come to this," I answered.

Mya's guess was right- even for just that split second, every heron in the castle had head pains like mine. But that wasn't what scared me. What scared me was what was causing it. After going into a detailed explanation about Mya's and my predictions (and having a brief scolding about going into his room from Dad), we all wondered what was going on.

"But why didn't it react to your touch?" Rothen asked incredulously. "The medallion-"

"Rothen, the medallion no longer contains a dark god, got it?" Selene spat at her sibling.

Rothen narrowed his eyes. "Selene. Be quiet or I will have the right to tear your wings off and smash you bones into _tiny little pieces_." His voice seethed with anger, and I realized that I was sitting directly between them. Before it got bad, I slowly slipped under my chair, crawled on the floor, and reached a spot beside Mya's seat before Selene shouted:

"Why you little- COME HERE YOU INSOLENT DASTARD!"

And you thought herons couldn't fight. Well, I guess it was that hawk spirit in them, because after that Selene had Rothen in a skilled headlock in a matter of seconds. Rothen threw her off, slamming her onto the floor. Neither sibling looked hurt, but it was obvious that they both were ready to kill each other.

"Hey! No fighting!" Rafiel grabbed his son by the arm and sat him on one side of the table; Selene, on the other side on my right. Mya moved into the seat on the left of me. I sighed. This was going to be a long war if those two kept acting like this.

"Anyway…." Rothen continued. "The medallion usually reacts to a heron's touch by glowing."

"Not always, Rothen." Reyson said. "The medallion will usually stay still. The times you touched it was when Yune was inside. But the strange thing is…." His eyes flickered to Mya. "Mya, your bird…"

"She's not a god. I know it. She just… well, I talk to her sometimes, and she seems to listen. But that's just how animals are, right?" Mya looked to Reyson for an answer.

"Um…. Yes." He answered, but his face still showed doubt.

"Well…. Let's put aside that matter for now. How about we talk about forming a group?" I offered.

Selene slowly slid her eyes to Rothen. "Truce?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Truce."

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was over, for now. I pushed away my breakfast, and stood. "Dad, can we go outside for this?"

"Um…." Reyson smiled. "As long as you're planning for a war and not fighting." He flicked his eyes to Selene and Rothen.

"Wait! Who said we were planning for a war? That was one battle! Come on!" Selene complained as Rothen urged her toward the balcony. Anya followed behind, her braided pinkish hair bouncing against her back.

I smiled at how Rothen and Selene's truce was going. "Yeah, we are planning." I answered.

"Good." Reyson nodded at us, as Mya slipped her hand into mine, and my face heated up. Reyson stared at Mya's hand entwined into mine. If he was upset about it, he didn't let on. "Go ahead."

"Yes!" Mya pulled me out into the hallway, and I almost tripped over my own feet in her excitement. "I have a perfect name for our group!"

Incredulously, I asked, "What? I hope its not 'Tellius Fighters' or something like that." I realized I was underestimating Mya's talent. She was light mage, for crying out loud! Not that it made a difference, but I knew Mya was a smart girl. "Nevermind. Forget I even said that."

Mya giggled as we entered the pavilion, where all the other herons and Ellie were sitting in a circle. She sauntered over to them and made herself a place between Ellie and Anya. As I walked over and sat between Rothen and Mya, my silver-haired maiden asked, "Where's Sayuki?"

"Sayuki left early this morning," Ellie answered. "She knew about us making a group and she said she wasn't joining so she went back to Begnion."

"Hmph." I crossed my arms. Holy Ashera, how stuck up can you get?

"Yeah." Ellie's eyes lifted to Mya's excited face. "So what's our group name?"

"It's going to be…." Mya dramatically stood up and threw her hand into the air. "The Dawn Brigade!"

"No way, that's cheating," Ellie scolded, as Mya sat. "The Dawn Brigade was your mom and dad's group."

"Well, we need to tweak it a bit…" Rothen put his hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"How about the Dusk Brigade?" Selene said excitedly.

"No way! That makes us sound evil." Mya said, and turned to me. "Any ideas, Darren?"

"I got nothin'." I really couldn't think of anything. I wonder if you guys have figured out by now that I'm not a very creative person.

"What about the Twilight Brigade?" Anya whispered.

"That's…." Mya smiled broadly. "That's perfect!" Mya pulled Anya into a hug. I saw Anya's eyes widen in shock, but she soon smiled.

"So now we have a name, now we need positions." Rothen pulled a piece of parchment and a quill form the bag he always carried around. He lay on his stomach and placed the quill on the paper. "Darren's our commander, obviously."

A murmur of agreement went around the circle and Rothen scribbled on his paper. I was a bit flattered. I knew I was always the leader type, but me? A commander? I shrugged, taking it as a compliment.

"So who votes for me as co-commander/tactician?"

Everyone's hands- even mine- flew into the air. Of course Rothen would handle the battle strategy. Well, I couldn't do this alone, could I?

"Uh-huh." Rothen scribbled on the paper. "So, Mya's our mage, Ellie's our princess/pegasus knight" –at this Ellie flushed- "Selene's our healer, and Anya, you're-" he looked up to see Anya, and to my surprise, she was aiming her silver bow and arrow right at his face.

"I'm your archer. I can use beorc weapons, remember?"

"Right…. Now please, put the weapon down." Rothen's voice shook. He obviously had an irrational fear of archers. I chuckled. "Rothen, it's not like Anya will hurt you."

"Yeah…." He bucked up and cleared his throat, pushing the paper into the center of the circle. It read:

_**Twilight Brigade**_

_Darren- Commander_

_Rothen- Co-commander/_ _Tactician_

_Mya- Light Mage_

_Ellie- Pegasus Knight_

_Selene-Healer_

_Anya- __? __Archer_

"We're a small group," Ellie sighed.

"We may be small, but we're fighting for the sake of Tellius here! Gravenvale will not prevail!" Mya stood and placed her hand in the center of the circle. The rest of us stood as well, as Selene placed her hand on top of Mya's. Ellie placed hers on top of Mya's, and then Anya. Rothen placed his next, and then, smiling proudly, I placed mine on the stack.

"On three," Rothen said. "One, two, three-"

"TWILIGHT BRIGADE!" we chanted together, and Mya through her hands around my neck. I hugged her back. "We're going to win this war," I reassured.

"I know," she pulled me tighter. "But it's only because you're in charge, Darren."

I pulled back from her, and squeezed her hands. "No. It's because we're together."

* * *

Altiran pushed his long hair back from his face and scowled with glee. His plan was going perfectly. The prince of Gravenvale was under his control, the feral laguz he owned were wreaking havoc, and he had the real Medallion that belonged to Lehran…. His life could get no more perfect. As he swung the medallion from its string, watching its pulsating light, it made him think about what he was going. Was it wrong to punish Tellius for disobeying the goddess's orders? He sighed. No. It was what Sephiran started years ago, and he was going to finish it.

The beorc and laguz would pay.

* * *

_Ancient Language Translation_

_Inan- What?_

* * *

**Oooh. we have a new enemy!**

**And if anyone wants to hear what Darren's galdr sounds like, here it is: .com/watch?v=Y3_Be1hTKYs&feature=related (on youtube)**

**So... please review!**

**And I don't own Fire Emblem.**

**and just so you know, 'dastard' means coward.**


	10. Reana's Choices

_**Part 1: Gravenvale Advances**_

**~Reana's Choices~**

* * *

Reana wrapped her arms around the barrel she was hiding behind, hoping to go unnoticed. She pushed a strand of pure black hair behind her ears and closed her eyes, feeling the vibrations of the rocking ship flow through her. She wished she hadn't come on this mission, but she knew she had to. It was the Goldoan mission. Goldoa was her home country.

That's right, was. She'd been with Gravenvale for over three years now, as the only Black Dragon to reach the General rank. She'd only joined to avenge her father's death, by taking out the beorc of Daein. But that hadn't happened yet, and she was just going to have to wait.

Reana sighed and pushed away the barrel so the Goldoan plains were in full view. She remembered this. As the ship, full of scurrying soldiers preparing for seizing, turned the corner, Reana could see mile after mile of rocky hills and flat grasslands. Her mind drifted back to her younger days in Goldoa. Playing with her Dragon friends, Tarith and Marcan. Long talks with Kurthnaga. Playfighting with her mom. Long talks with Kurthnaga….

She hadn't realized how much she missed her royal friend. Even when they were children growing up together, Kurthnaga was the kindest and sweetest Dragon laguz she had ever met. Not loud and arrogant like his father, Dheginsea. The deceased King of Dragons could be funny at times though…"HOLD…HOLD I SAY!" was what Reana remembered him shouting once. She suppressed a giggle. How she missed that life….

The dragon girl shook her head. No. Tellius was their enemy now, even if she was going against her own race…

"General Reana? What are you doing down there?"

Reana looked up to see her subordinate, Lieutenant Shirenam, staring down at her curiously. His brow wrinkled as he asked, "Aren't you supposed to be surveying the troops?"

Staring at her bare feet, Reana tried to think of a convincing lie. In truth, she wasn't supposed to be here. "Um, yes," she said, "But…. My head hurts and I'm taking a break. You're in charge now."

"Oh, um…" Shirenam looked shocked at Reana's words. He was quite underanked compared to Reana. "Uh….. I guess I'll go ready the troops?"

"You do that…" Reana looked back to the hills and sighed. She couldn't believe what was about to happen.

The ship stopped and made anchor at a spot between two jagged rocks. They lowered the plank directly between the opening, and make way for the clearing next to the village of Ryu, which was only meters away from the Castle of Goldoa. Reana gave a silent gasp, and she moved the barrel closer to her body. "That's my village," she whispered.

"Onward, men! This country of sub-humans will now be ours!"

Reana fought the overpowering urge to leap from her hiding place and force all the men to go back to Gravenvale. She really didn't want to see Goldoa crash and burn right in front of her eyes. Could she do it? Yes. Would she? No. She didn't want to risk being removed from her status as general over something as… silly as seizing a country. And then she'd _never _be able to avenge her father.

Suddenly, a plan formed in Reana's mind. She did want to see what would happen to Goldoa, however, not the aftereffects of the battle. When she was sure all the men had left the boat, Reana pushed the barrel away from her forcefully, and she lifted the plank. She then unanchored the boat, and she felt the ship move forward. She headed to the steering wheel, wondering how she was going to do this.

_Okay, _she thought, grasping the wheel tightly with sweaty hands. The sea out ahead was immense and threatening, and she was glad she didn't have to actually go that far. _I just have to turn this corner…._

She raised the sails with her left hand and held the wheel with her right. She had to keep straight for a few meters, and then make a sharp turn to the right to reach the coastal village of Ryu. She kept an eye on the rocks as though not to make the ship hit them, and when she reached her turning point, she used both hands to turn the wheel to the right. The ship rocked and teetered, and she struggled to keep her grip on the unfamiliar wheel.

When she turned the corner, the sight of the town was quite what she expected. Houses were ablaze with red and orange fire. Children were screaming and crying. The castle, in its perfect beauty, had not yet been damaged. The army of Gravenvale had taken to fighting the Goldoan Royal Dragons and their army of one-thousand in the adjacent clearing as planned. Among the fray she could pick out individual dragons- Kurthnaga, the smallest of the Black Dragons, with their diamond-like wings and sturdy stature; Marcan, the darkest of the Red Dragons, who were obviously made to fight; but among the white dragons, with their elegance and grace, she could not separate her friend Tarith from the mix.

Reana anchored the ship again, being careful not to topple overboard in the murky waters. As she stood back from the secured anchor, she blinked several times as she stared out onto the battlefield. Her face burned, and her hands made their way to her red cheeks. Her heart pounded as she watched a load of Wyvern Lords slam their forces into the Goldoan castle wall, which made many cracks in its shimmering marble. At this, she could see Kurthnaga give a roar of pure rage. The black dragon, small as he was, flapped himself into the air, and blasted a forceful white breath at the small group of enemies. The sound it gave was so loud, so deafening, that anyone near the blast would be at a loss for hearing. The castle tower where the blast impacted teetered on its hinges and then slammed to the hardened earth, creating another ear-splitting blow and killing many of Gravenvale's ground troops in the process.

The battle had now split into two areas: The large fray in the crumbling village, and the smaller Black Dragon-led fray near the castle. Gravenvale soldiers began to storm like a herd of beast laguz into the castle, tearing down banners and lighting the castle aflame with their torches as they went. Reana saw the penthouse- where Kurth's room was located- slowly be slammed away by the wyverns and the repeated blasts of the Black Dragons.

Tears, wet and hot, trickled down Reana's face like a stream. The urge to fight was back again, and Reana suppressed her burning feelings once more. She had to choose where her loyalties lied. Was she a strong Goldoan dragon, as she had been since birth? Or was she a menacing Gravenvale general, who would take war lightly?

A distressed Reana sat where she was on the top deck and placed her head in her hands. She couldn't decide, not here, not now. Who knew fighting against your former country would be so hard…?

She pulled her knees to her chest and lay on her side, weeping uncontrollably. She didn't want to think about this. Maybe she'd be lucky and a dragon's breath would ignite her on the spot and kill her. Right now she really hated her life. If she stayed with Gravenvale, she would have a chance to destroy Daein, the killers of her father. If she betrayed and went with Goldoa, she'd be able to help defend and possibly save the country…

She let her eyes close, and all of her thoughts floated away like her hair blowing in the wind, carefree and alone.

* * *

Fighting. Death. Screams. Fire. The essence of war filled Reana's mind the second she roused from her brief unconsciousness. She sat up, wiping her tear-streaked face, and looked out upon the scene.

It was horrific. There were dead and injured dragons and beorc everywhere. She heard a man cry out for his loved one before he died. The village of Ryu was burned to the ground, as if it had never been there. Only a thin layer of ashes proved its existence. The castle, however, was still standing, much to Reana's relief. It was only singed in places. She looked down and saw the Goldoan flag, the large one that used to stand atop the castle. On the ground, its sacred emblem of the dragons was completely burned off. She looked to the castle's top, where the red and golden flag of Gravenvale waved in the evening wind, the sun reflecting the shiny gold stripes. Reana hung her head. It was done.

Goldoa had fallen.

"Let me go! Now! Kurthnaga, please help me!"

That voice. It entered Reana's pointed ears and circled around her mind. That voice, which would wake her up in the mornings of her childhood. That voice, which called to her across the hills in childish games. That voice. Tarith.

Reana's eyes slid across the battlefield, strewn with deep red blood, until she reached the struggling figure of the white dragon girl. The female screamed and kicked and the two Gravenvale soldiers holding her back by her arms, her white-sea green hair streaming in the wind. The soldiers dragged her by her arms, and her slippered feet dragged the ground, leaving trail marks in the dirt.

_They're coming toward the ship._

Reana couldn't believe, out of all the dragons in Goldoa, that they were taking _Tarith _captive. She felt her heart sink to her stomach as her blood sister passed by her below. Tarith looked up and her blue eyes met Reana's. She blinked, and her eyes widened in shock.

Something stirred at the back of Reana's mind. Something that reminded her of this dragon, why this dragon girl was so important to her. That day Tarith saved her life…

* * *

_The cold autumn wind blew across the trees that day. The forest surrounding the newly-formed village of Rikan was still, quiet. All except for the soft breathing of one little dragon girl…._

_Reana was curled up by a tree, her arms wrapped tight around her. She was freezing all over her seven-year-old body, but after a week in the woods, she hardly felt it. Her throat was dry from lack of water, her stomach raw from lack of food. She had managed to survive for those seven long days on tree bark. But she wasn't yearning for a fresh meal the most. She missed her mom._

_When Reana, the newest dragon child, was born, Goldoa was in such rejoicing that they supplied all the necessary things to her mother, Ena, to take care of the child. The lavish gifts came frequently at first, then less and less, and finally the day Reana turned seven, they stopped altogether._

_On that day, Ena decided she would take her child out for a walk. Reana was a happy and spirited child, ready to go anywhere. The mother-daughter duo walked in the woods for a good while. They even had a chance to stop in Rikan for a bit. All this time, though, Reana noticed her mother had a sad look in her eyes._

_They reached the woods again, and Reana and her mother stopped by a tree. She sat her child down and gave her one long kiss, right on her dragon mark. Ena then looked up sadly at her child._

"_I love you, baby. But this… is for the best." She turned around and began to walk away._

"_Mama, where are you going? Why are you leaving me? You can't!" The dragon child felt tears spring into her eyes. Her mother, the strong Red Dragon, was going? She'd never see her again?_

_Ena sniffed and wiped away unconcealed tears. "Reana, I don't want to leave. But…. I can't support you, baby. Goldoa helped us for a while and…now they're not."_

"_But… Mama!"_

"_Love you, Reana. Be safe. I hope… I hope I see you again." Ena walked swiftly, unwilling to look back at her daughter, her only daughter she loved._

"…_. MAMA!"_

_That was a week ago. Reana had barely left her little tree since her mother left her there, and she missed her terribly. Why did she have to leave? Why was she left here? A wind blew and chilled Reana to the bone. Tears, cold and wet, rolled down Reana's cheeks. She wanted to go home. She _hated _this. The child closed her eyes. She felt her heartbeat slow, her breathing become less frequent. She let herself drift into unconsciousness…_

"_Lalalalala…"_

_Reana emerged from her near death with a jolt. Somebody else was in the woods… and they were singing. Who was it?_

"_Lalala- oh! What's that?"_

_Tiny footsteps ran across the hard-packed earth, though the sound wasn't loud. Reana, who was on her side, couldn't see the figure as it stopped over her. The figure crouched and asked in a female's voice, "Are you alright?"_

_Reana shook her head no, and she curled up tighter into her ball. If this young girl that worried for her was a beorc, she wanted nothing to do with her. She'd heard how cruel and mean they were to laguz._

"_Can you turn over?"_

_Reana shook her head again, this time more rapidly. She could turn over; however, all the warmth from her body would escape out into the wind if she did. But suddenly, strong, yet soft, hands unraveled Reana from her position, and she did not resist. She lay flat on her back, staring up into the child's face._

_Her long, dangling hair, was white in the shadows, but when the sun passed over them, her locks were a light sea-green. Her skin was paler than the rest of the dragons, and her blue eyes were lined with worry. But, the most interesting thing to Reana was the reddish swirl mark that was right between her eyebrows. The mark a dragon would have._

_The white-haired girl smiled. "Ah! You're a dragon! Like me!" She pointed proudly to her chest, making a face of satisfaction. "I'm Tarith. I'm a white dragon. I live with my daddy, Nasir. But…" Tarith gave a look of guilt at Reana. "Do you have a home? I can take you with me to my house. By the way, what's your name?"_

I can…. Have a home?_ Reana thought. She wasn't scared of this girl. She was a dragon, too, and a place to stay was really what she needed right now. She hoped her mother would understand._

_And for the first time in a week, Reana smiled. "Reana. My name's Reana."_

_

* * *

_

Reana's subconscious crept back into the present little by little. She could remember going to Nasir's house, and learning that he was her mother's grandfather, which deemed Tarith and Reana somewhat as sisters. Tarith, although two years younger than Reana, was at the level of maturity where she could play with Reana without being considered a pest. Reana remembered moving to Ryu, where she met Marcan, a hardy and stubborn Red Dragon child. She remembered visiting the castle, when she first met Kurthnaga. She recalled the day, at age fourteen, when Nasir told her how her father had been killed. That day changed her life forever, and that was when she vowed to get revenge against the beorc, thus joining Gravenvale, who had been planning a war on Tellius.

She remembered Tarith screaming for her not to go.

Now the scene was back to the present day, with Reana staring down at her sister, and her sister opening her mouth to scream her name, which would be burned in the black dragon's memory forever.

"REANA!"

That did it. She snapped. Reana made a noise like a scared animal and she ran to hide behind her barrel again. Tarith. She loved her sibling with all her heart, there was no telling what the men would do to her…. She put her head in her hands, shaking involuntarily.

Tarith's screams choked off and then died. Reana's sharp hearing, though she wished not to hear anymore, picked up Tarith's unconscious breathing as she was dragged up the lowered plank by two soldiers.

"What do we do with her? She seems to know General Reana… did she even come on this mission?"

The black dragon's ears perked up. She swore and begged anyone who was listening that she would not be noticed. If she was, her plans against Daein would be lost. _Not that it matters, _Reana thought.

"Eh, I say take her to Prince Verdone. They'll probably make her a feral laguz anyway. Imagine that, we'll be the first to have a feral dragon!"

_Feral? WHAT? _Reana deemed that as worse than death. She'd seen the feral laguz in the dungeons of the Gravenvale Keep. They snapped at you when you walked by, they roared in pain and agony. She remembered her first few months in Gravenvale, she was a servant and she had to _feed _those rabid things. She felt sorry for them.

Could she stop Verdone from making Tarith that way?

Reana lifted her head to see Tarith being pulled down the stairs to the lowest level of the ship. About forty other men stalked up the plank behind the first two, their armor scarred and scratched. A mage, a very young mage at that, collapsed on the deck in line, and the weary soldiers stepped over him like he was dust. The one archer at the end of the line raised the plank, unanchored the ship, and carried the mage boy swiftly down the steps where Tarith had gone.

The captain of the ship came out from his quarters, in his red suit which matched his flaming hair. He looked around at the soldiers standing on the ship, nodded his head, and retreated back to his room. When he had left, the men gave war cries and whoops in victory. The vessel passed the castle, and Reana saw a few Gravenvale men had taken fort there. They gave hollers to their friends back on board.

_Kurth…I'm sorry. _Reana put her head in her hands again, her tears falling and staining her tunic. If she ever got a chance to see Goldoa again, she was sure she would be shunned for working with the enemy. The dragon girl continued to sob, as the wind blew around her, whispering of being alone anew.

* * *

**WOOT! Chapter 9 is up! Just one more chapter and Part 1 will be done!**

**FYI, if you didn't know, Reana is the girl Darren and co. met back in chapter 7 (it says eight on fanfiction because of the prologue).**

**Lukichan13 does not own Fire Emblem.**


	11. Port Talrega

_**Part 1: Gravenvale Advances**_

_**~Port Talrega~**_

* * *

"Out of all the towns in Begnion, we just _had_ to choose this one."

"Shut up, Rothen, shut up! I don't like this anymore than you do." My heron cousin was _really _starting to get on my nerves. I got it, we were in a port town, Talrega, in Begnion that hates laguz, but come on! Did he have to complain all the way here? No he did not! I sighed and said, "This is the quickest way to Kilvas, anyway. Let's just get supplies and head over to Sayuki's ship." That was the one thing the brat did for us after she left. She got us a stupid ship. Whoop-de-do.

I wrapped my sandy brown, waist-length cloak hood over my head, covering my pointy ears and my unnaturally pale arms. My wings weren't a problem; they retracted, and they were pulled so tightly against my back that it hurt. "Are you all prepared?" I asked.

Selene coughed. "Yeah, whatever." Anya nudged her in the side and nodded at me, smiling.

Rothen pulled his hood over his head like me and nodded, though his face was lined with worry.

Mya linked her arm in mine, her hair blowing in the late-afternoon wind and her shawl, which covered her brand, did the same motion. "Let's do this."

"Well, what are you guys doing standing around? Let's go!" Blue-haired Ellie pushed hard against my back. "Let's go!" Reluctantly, I let her shove me into the city, which was quite small. Many houses lined the sides of the road leading to the sea, and most houses had market stations in front of them. Being a port town, this place had no 'in-town' ruler, except for the Duke of Persis, who was in Sienne.

"I have dibs on the staffs!" Ellie sprinted in front of me, gold in her hand, heading toward a young beorc woman's table.

"Ellen Ridell Crimea! Get back here!" Mya unlinked from me and ran after her young friend. I chuckled at that. Ellie was only ten; I still couldn't believe I was going to let her go on this war. Suddenly, Rothen stepped up next to me and pointed to two adjacent stalls. "Hey Commander, can I nab some knives while you go get some new swords?"

"Hm?" I grabbed my sword hilt and pulled the weapon out, and it made a _shinng _noise as I did. I examined it, and I found several scratches and chips. The Steel Sword was dull, and its tip wasn't pointed. "Yeah, I think I need a new set."

"Come on," Rothen said, pulling me over to the booths. My feet scuffled in the brown dirt, getting my new boots dirty (I finally got rid of my old slippers). We both stopped in front of the sword booth, and Rothen announced, "This fine young man would like to buy a set of swords, please."

I growled. "Rothen, back off. I'm not a child." However, I looked up into the seller's face, and suddenly felt very intimidated.

He was a stocky older man, with a buff stature and glaring eyes. His bushy brow furrowed when he looked down at me. "Where you from, boy, the desert?"

"Um," I stammered, and looked at my clothing. My cloak did look very…. desert-like, however, my pants didn't match… I only answered, "Yes."

"Hmph. Your class?"

I froze. I could only assume he thought I was a beorc (at least the disguise worked), but my class?

"Myrmidon," Rothen whispered in my ear. He patted my back and went off toward the knives.

"Myrmidon," I repeated, stumbling over the strange word. The man, to my surprise, smiled and gave a hearty laugh.

"Well, boy, here are your choices." He rummaged in a long container and pulled out several pairs of swords with great difficulty. "You've got Brave Swords, Wo Daos, Killing Edges, and Steel Blades. Once you promote to a Swordsmaster, you can get some of the better ones, but for now you're stuck with these."

I pulled the gold out of my pocket and checked the prices on each set of swords. Three of the four sets would leave me flat broke; the only choices I had were the Brave Swords and the Steel Blades. "I'll take these two," I said, pointing toward each set.

"Good choices, boy." He took my gold, and gave me the sets. I pulled my old swords out of their pockets and gave them to him. "Would you take these?" I asked.

The man leaned down and whispered to me, "I'll trade that for some Wo Daos if you want."

I nodded. He took the swords, and gave me my third set. "Thanks," I said.

"No problem, boy."

I smiled slightly. Three sets of swords. The combined gold of what Dad gave me and what Sayuki left had brought me this. And I still had 1000 gold left for items. _Hah… life is good, _I thought as I walked to Sayuki's loaner ship.

The ship in itself was large and a deep brown, with the flag of Begnion painted on its sides. It was large enough to hold a full army, so that meant we- the Twilight Brigade- could easily get lost inside. There were no cannons, thank the goddess. I could just imagine how it would be if Rothen got his hands on one of those. Shuddering, I walked up the lowered plank to the main deck and placed my three sets onto the wooden boards. Surprisingly, the ship was already stocked with other necessary items- mostly food, warm clothing, and a few tents. Since the large stash was on the top deck, I moved it into a cabin behind the steering wheel.

"Darren! Look at these!" The pounding of feet came from behind me. I whipped around and saw Rothen, with him holding three shiny daggers. "Aren't they cool?"

"Eh, okay, sure," I said, not really caring. Daggers weren't the best weapon in my opinion. "Go put them in the armory." I motioned to the door adjacent to where I had put the food earlier. "While you're at it, could you get my swords, too?" I said, walking back to the plank to head back into town.

"Yeah, whatever…." Rothen mumbled. I heard him clank the steel together as I slid down the plank went over to Selene and Anya, who were over by the bows.

"Please, Selene! This one-"

"The lady said not 'til you promote alright?... Oh, hi Darren." Selene gave a quick glance at me before turning back to Anya, fuming. The lady trying to sell the bows gave me an exasperated sigh and said, "These girls your friends?"

"Relatives," I replied. The lady smiled sympathetically. I continued, "What were you three deciding on?"

"Well, this young girl here wanted a bow and arrow set, and I said an Iron Longbow would be best for her due to her class. The older girl agreed with me. But the young one wanted a Silver Longbow, but that's for 2nd tier and above classes…" The woman trailed off.

I sighed. Those girls…"Anya," I said, stooping down to meet her crying eyes. "We can always get you a Silver Longbow later. They won't disappear of the face of the earth."

"But… I want one now!" Anya shook her head rapidly. "It's not fair that I'm an Archer! Plus, it's too expensive, and I can't get it because of that, too!"

"We'll take the Iron Longbow," Selene said, holding out her money. She took the weapon and Anya fell into my arms, weeping. The seller murmured something about going on lunch break and she took off.

"You wanted this bow, child?" A mysterious voice came from behind me. I released Anya and moved her aside to face the newcomer.

He was a laguz, obviously- the cloak he wore that covered his ears proved it. Just reaching my shoulder, he couldn't have been any more than fourteen, but being a laguz, he was probably older. Twirling Anya's longed-for weapon on his finger, he said, "I could buy it for you, if you want."

Anya beamed. "Oh, really? Thanks, stranger!" She reached out in an attempt to hug him, but the young laguz gently waved her away.

"I'm not 'stranger'. I'm…I'm Kurth."

Selene raised her eyebrows. "Kurth? Don't you mean you're King Kurthnaga of Goldoa?"

Kurth sighed. "Well, yes, you could call me that…"

Suddenly I was confused. As Kurthnaga laid the gold on the stand and gave the bow to an elated Anya, I asked, "But wait. Why aren't you in Goldoa?"

"Well, my laguz brother and sisters…" He leaned in closer to us. "Goldoa has fallen at the hands of Gravenvale."

"Holy Ashera," I said in shock for about the fifth time that week. "Gravenvale is really…. getting a move on."

Kurthnaga nodded, sadly. "They have also taken one of my dragons captive…. And another dragon had been working with Gravenvale since she became an adolescent."

Something stirred in the back of my mind. "This dragon… it didn't happen to be a female Black Dragon, did it?"

Kurthnaga looked up at me. "You… you know Reana?"

"Reana…. That's her name? Yeah, we saw her when we were coming back from a battle with Gravenvale in south Begnion. She…rules an army there, I think. You didn't know this?"

"I… I did know that she was in Gravenvale…. But she controls an army?" The dragon sighed. "This war is just weird."

I nodded, agreeing. "Weird would be the right term to use. One second, I'm just living my life and the next-"

"Suddenly a war comes out of nowhere? Yeah, I'm thinking the same." Kurthanga gave a half-hearted smile at me. "Um… I was wondering….. would you mind if I came along with you guys on that big ship over there?"

My eyes slid to the ship and back to Kurthnaga, in confusion. "How'd you know that-"

"I had a hunch." The wind blew slightly, and Kurthnaga's green hair flitted around his face. "So, how about it… um…"

"Darren," I said.

"Well, I don't to particularly mind if you do or not. Come _on, _Anya!" Selene dragged Anya away by the hand, as the youngest heron rubbed her new bow against her cheek, grinning.

I sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get used to little Anya."

"Yes…" Kurthnaga glanced furtively at the ship. "You've got beorc on your side, hm?"

"Somewhat…" I said, my mind focused on Sayuki. I outright said, "The empress is a brat."

He chuckled. "I figured Sayuki would be some part in this…. At least you have a ship."

"Yup." My eyes flicked over to the ship again. Selene and Anya were on deck talking, Ellie was showing Mya her new collection of staves- if that cost too much she was dead meat- and Rothen….

"Rothen?" I scanned the plaza, hoping to catch sight of my heron cousin. No sign of him. However, my ears perked up when I heard a woman shriek, "AAH! _Sub-human!"_

I rolled my eyes. _Rothen…. This is gonna be a long war if you keep this up._

"Hey! Watch it, lady! My cloak- oh, holy Ashera."

I'd found Rothen, who'd spoken the aforesaid sentence. He was standing in full view of everyone, his cloak down on the sandy ground. His wings were released and her ears were quiet prominent. I swore. "Curse you, Rothen."

"EEEK! Get away, you filthy beast!"

"You'd better learn your place, you know that?"

"Somebody call the empress!"

This was getting bad. The entire mob of townsfolk had basically gained up on Rothen, and I lost him in the crowd. Rothen hadn't learned all the best fighting techniques yet, so he was defenseless…. "Kurth, give me a second."

"Darren! Over here!" Selene ran over to me from the ship and handed my set of Steel Blades. "I'd say threaten them."

"GYAAH!" Rothen shrieked from inside the crowd. A gust tickled at the back of my neck. "Wind magic." I swore again. "Kurth-"

"I heard you. Go on." Urging me forward, Kurth soon had me positioned behind the mob. I could see Rothen's hand poking out from the top. "Hey you! Quit it, or this sword meets your heart!"

Only one man seemed to had heard me. His eyes narrowed, and he ripped off my cloak. I cringed, and closed my eyes, preparing for the worst. "Hey!" he shouted. "We've got another sub-human!"

Before long I was putting up a fight and trying not to at the same time. Several angry men and women advanced on me, and I used my swords in a defensive tactic. When on man threatened to grab my sword, a thought quickly flitted into my mind. _Selene. She knows the Galdr of Peace, doesn't she? _"SELENE!" I shrieked over the noise. I felt a dagger reach its way into my leg. I winced and shouted again, "Selene! Sing Grace!"

And that ended it. Once Selene's voice pierced the air, the townsfolk backed up from me. I pulled the dagger out of my leg and threw it to the ground. Limping, I scurried over to the mob, which was watching Selene in awe, and Rothen, who was lying spread-eagle on the ground. He saw me come over and he raised his head. Even with a bruise near his right eye, he managed to smile. "Sorry."

I nodded and took Rothen by the hand to help him stand. I took one quick look back at the townsfolk, who were standing in a little group, staring at Selene as if she were some sort of goddess. I looked over at Selene, who was standing near to where we were. She did look very… heavenly. In her voice was just calmness and sound, no words. Her blond hair glittered in the sunset, and a mysterious aura emanated from her body as she sang. I grabbed her shoulder and her voice slowly faded to a halt. "Let's go. Thanks, Selene."

She nodded. "Ah… that was fun. Let's go." She glanced back at the townsfolk again, and they seemed to be moving in their daily routine, though a bit confused. "Come on, you two. Let's go before they catch sight of your wings again."

Rothen sighed, pulling in his wings. "But they know who we are, Selene."

"No, they don't." As we walked back toward the ship, I felt Kurth slid up next to me and remove his cloak. "I altered their memory in that galdr."

My eyes widened, in a bit of shock. "Are we even allowed to do that, Selene?"

"Yes, no. Maybe." She took off her cloak as well and stepped into the water to lower the plank. "If I hadn't, somebody would've told, and Sayuki would've been really mad at us. Besides, singing is always fun!" She grinned at me.

I felt myself grin back. "Yeah. Sure."

"Come on, you guys… I hate sailing at night!" Mya called down to us. She narrowed her eyebrows, but she then nodded when she saw Kurth. "Oh, hi, Kurthnaga. Long time no see."

"The pleasure is mine." Kurthnaga walked up the plank and kissed Mya gently on her cheek. She giggled.

"Don't try any funny business, Kurth," I called, walking up the plank with Rothen and Selene behind me. "Mya's mine."

"Oh, I know." Kurth smiled at me. "You can trust me."

"Suuuure." But I only chuckled at bit. Heron-Beorc-Branded plus a dragon laguz? I didn't even want to think of the results of that.

The plank rose behind me, and I coursed my way around Ellie's many staffs, my swords, and Rothen's daggers to the steering wheel. I hadn't been given a crash course on this ship stuff, so I could only hope it didn't crash. Tightening my grip on the wheel, I called, "Rothen?"

"Anchors aweigh!" he replied, and the ship gently floated forward, away from the mainland and toward the remnants of war in Kilvas.

And possibly the remnants of war everywhere.

* * *

**Part One is... DONE! *bows***

**Part Two wil start with a map overview coming up soon!**


	12. Prologue Part 2

_Still to Come…_

_With the war arriving quickly, young heron prince Darren and his Twilight Brigade sail their way toward the now poverty-stricken country of Kilvas, where the raven laguz reside. After the nation of Gravenvale attacked, Naesala and his wife Leanne struggle to keep the country together. The newly formed group, including the dragon king, Kurthnaga, docks at the harbor to help with the war effort. _

_However, across the continent, more pressing matters arise._

_Rebellion stirs in Crimea. Some fight for Gravenvale, some stay loyal to Princess Ellen and her mother, Queen Elincia._

_The ruler of Begnion, Empress Sayuki, is tempted with an offer than is hard to turn down, while her Senate grows more corrupt with laguz slavery and prisoners of war._

_Daein fights to keep back the enemy forces that threaten to break their borders._

_Phoenicis and Hatari slowly piece together their fallen countries, without much hope of survival._

_Goldoa waits in silence for a savior to arrive._

_Gravenvale, just past the Desert of Death, plans to seize Gallia so the all the laguz countries may be under Verdone's command…_

_And a mysterious young man named Altiran watches it all unfold, as Lehran's Medallion shines brighter every passing day._

_Will Tellius survive this brutal war, though it's only just started? Find out in…._

_**Part II: United We Stand**_


	13. Grant Us Peace

**_Part II: United We Stand_**

**_~Grant Us Peace~_**

* * *

"Darren, are you okay?"

"Ugh…." Groggily, I struggled to sit up in the dimly lit room. I could barely see the door no more than five meters from my face, though candles were directly adjacent to it. The world wavered in and out of my vision. "What in Ashera's-"

"Oh no no no, you stay down." Soft hands pushed against my chest, forcing back onto the soft mattress of the bed I laid in.

"What in Ashera's name," I continued, "is going on?" My voice cracked for an unknown reason, and my memory failed to tell me why.

"Ahem," the figure that was talking stepped closer to me. It was Leanne. "Well, when you guys got here last night we had some trouble getting across the borders…"

Ah, now I remembered. We had arrived in Kilvas in the dead of night, two weeks after our departure. That was good because Gravenvale was blocking off most of the border of the island, so the only way to get in was in the dark. Leanne and Naesala helped our group, save Kurth (who decided to stay on the ship), into the castle swiftly to avoid detection. However….

"Something happened, didn't it?" I asked. My memory was still very foggy.

"_Iah._ Just meters from the castle, Mya complained that she was tired, as did young Ellie. I thought it was just from walking, but when Mya nearly collapsed and you whined about a headache, I knew something was deadly wrong. Luckily we were able to get to the castle in time before you lot of herons passed out."

"I do not whine!" I protested. "Anyway… how long have we been here?"

"Just overnight. It's around midmorning, so I figured I'd wake you."

I scowled. Stupid headaches. I had planned to be up by dawn. "Always slowing me down," I mumbled.

"What?"

"Oh, it's just…" I paused, unsure if I could tell Leanne without getting onto something. "Um, I've had these headaches before. Twice."

"I know that." Leanne sat on my bed. Great. I'd started a discussion, when all I wanted to do was go back and sleep some more. "Tell me, do you think the medallion has anything to do with this?"

"Yes… and no." I really wasn't sure. After that last time in Serenes, none of us were really sure. Did the medallion have a 'dark god' inside it or not? "Um…. Is the 'dark god' still inside the medallion?"

"We….think so." Leanne brushed a piece of hair away from her face and faced me. I sat up to hear her better. "The dark god inside the medallion reacts to chaos and war, causing it to glow. In turn, the herons react to the medallion and its 'negative' energies. So… we are almost positive that the medallion is causing this."

"But what about Mya and Ellie? They're Branded and Beorc, what would they have to do with the medallion?"

"Well, as you may already know, there was a beorc girl- Mist was her name- who collapsed along with the herons due to ….that…" Her eyes widened. "Wait, but Ellie isn't related… wait, she is! Through Ike!"

"Huh?" Leanne was making no sense. Yes, Ellie was related to Ike, but what about this Mist girl?

"Hold on a second, Darren. But Mya… she has a bird… and it's possible…"

"Possible for what?" I'd never see my aunt this… scattered before. She was speaking in incomplete sentences, and I got no feedback. What could be going through her head?

"Maybe… no, but then there's the empress's daughter…. But it can't be her! Sanaki was never connected to it the first place… So it has to be…" She paced back and forth now, scribbling on a piece of paper every so often.

I finally realized I wasn't going to get anything out of her, so I laid back and tried to piece it together myself. I wasn't' worried about Ellie, just Mya. Her bird and the medallion and Sanaki all were in my head, but I couldn't make the pieces fit.

"Lehran's Medallion, the bird, her Brand…. It all fits!" Leanne stopped pacing and turned back to her paper, wrote the last line, and sealed it.

"What fits?"

Leanne finally turned to me. "I wish I could tell you, Darren. But…. You're not ready. Well, mostly it's Mya who's not ready." She sat on my bed again.

"But…. Wouldn't this information help us?"

"It might. But then again, it might make things worse." She leaned over me and kissed me on my forehead lightly. "Darren, I really don't want to get you overwhelmed. So I'm only going to tell you this: find the medallion, calm the dark god back to its slumber, and stop the war, or else… things could get bad."

I blinked. That was a large request. "But…" Then I realized something. "Isn't the medallion in Serenes?"

Leanne shook her head. "Sadly, no. It's didn't react to your touch, did it?"

"No…. so the medallion in Serenes… is a fake?"

"Yes. Only someone who would know all about Serenes would be able to get their hands on the real one."

"Who would that be? Do you have any-"

"Not in the slightest." Leanne stood from the bed and opened the door. "Now go find Mya. I'm sure she has something to tell you."

Slowly, I let my feet swing out from under the covers, and I stood and walked by the paper the Leanne had sealed.

"It's a letter to your father about your promotions," she said, a hint of strange doubt in her voice. Was she lying? "Since laguz normally don't promote, you'll have to promote into a beorc class."

"Uh-huh." As I walked by her out the door, I swore I heard her grab the letter and shut it into a drawer, as if she feared I would read it. "Liar, liar, wings on fire," I chanted, smirking.

"Darren!"

Not only seconds after I crossed the threshold had Mya come slamming into me. Teetering backward, I felt a something soft and small land on my head. Mya grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling down, and she commanded, "Little Yune, get off of Darren's head!" I felt the bird flutter off of my head, and I saw it land in Mya's open palms.

"So what've you got to tell me," I asked, "Yune learned how to sit on people's heads?"

Mya giggled, grinning. "No, silly! I can see in the future now!"

"Excuse me? Can you say that again?" Strange things had been happening in my life, and now Mya all of a sudden is a seer overnight?

"You heard me, Darren! My mom had this gift too, and she knew I would get it soon…." She leaned in closer to me, as if telling a secret. "Only the Branded have special powers like this. It's so great!" She threw her hands in the air and began twirl in delight, bringing Yune in the air with the motion.

Then I first noticed her clothes. They weren't the outfit she'd been wearing when I met her. A royal blue cloak covered her shoulders and the straps were brought together on her chest, being held by an orange jewel. Her blouse was a pale pink and it exploded down into a dress that reached her knees. I was speechless for that instant, so I could only utter, "You promoted."

"Sure as heck I did!" Mya stopped spinning and Yune fluttered onto her shoulder. "I'm finally a Light Sage, but it's not official until the papers get sent to my mom…"

"Uh-huh." I could barely listen to her, because my mind had suddenly been clouded with thoughts about Mya's supposed weariness on the trip here. "Mya… have you been feeling alright lately?"

Her eyes grew dark and her elatedness vanished. "Um, not exactly…. Everything felt so foggy after we got on the ship. I really tried to shove it into the back of my mind, but whenever I wasn't occupied with something else, I just felt wrong. Like there's an imbalance inside me." She swallowed and looked down. "Same with Ellie. And the rest of you seemed to have some fatigue too, only multiplied tenfold."

"You want to know a possible reason why?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Blast. I had wanted to bring this up when the rest of the Brigade was around.

"Um, yeah."

I breathed out through my mouth. "The medallion."

"But wait! I thought-"

"The medallion in Serenes is a counterfeit. Someone- we don't know who- stole the real one. And the real one has that 'dark god' inside of it, causing the herons to become weary due to its negative energies, and it glows intensely."

"But… what do I have to do with the medallion? I mean Ellie is Mist's niece, so that's probably why she's like this…"

"Oh really? Ellie's related to her…?" I sighed, glad that was cleared up. "But about you…don't know. But Leanne told me this: Find the medallion, calm the dark god back to its slumber, and stop the war. She knew something else though, but she wouldn't let it slip."

"Agh…" Mya looked at me a second and said, "I'm gonna go tell the others!" She sprinted off down a hallway.

I sat. I sat a while. Just thinking. The pieces were there…. The herons and Ellie the medallion fit together. But Mya and Yune and Sayuki were just floating throughout my mind, trying to squeeze into the puzzle. If only Leanne had told me what she was thinking….

* * *

"Come on, you all! Promotion time!"

Leanne had us all lined up in the castle's main hallway, almost shoulder to shoulder. Mya had returned with Ellie and Selene from giving food and supplies to the poverty stricken ravens. Rothen stood next to me, and on the other side of him, Anya. Only we herons were going to promote: Mya had already, and Ellie wasn't ready to. Leanne stood next to Naesala a few meters in front of us. "Ready, guys? Remember, these are beorc classes and-"

"We know Leanne! Can I just promote already?" Crossing his arms, Rothen growled a bit in annoyance.

"Okay, fine." Leanne took a beautiful staff from Ellie (which I think was called Matrona), and held it out in front of her slender body. She slowly gripped it with both hands and walked forward to Rothen, who got to promote first because he was the oldest. "Prince Rothen of Serenes," she began, "by the might of the goddess, the next path you take shall be a blessed one. With this staff, I dub thee…" She gently tapped each of Rothen's shoulders with the staff, and said, "A Rogue, valiant and cunning."

I thought I could almost feel Rothen's pride until I realized it wasn't his pride- it was the light from his promotion. It was bright and blinding, covering almost every inch of the room, so I was forced to shield my eyes. Finally, it disappeared, and only two words could escape my mouth:

"Holy Ashera."

Rothen was… entirely different, clothing wise. His prince outfit, which was pure white… was gone. His sleeveless top reached his waist, in a forest green color. However, his pants made up for the tunic: They were baggy and had a dagger belt around his middle. The bottom of the pants fit into his dirty brown boots that matched his sandy hair. And- I thought this was a bit much- he had fingerless gloves and an off-white scarf.

"Sweet! It looks like my daggers will be getting some use!" Skillfully, he flipped a dagger out of his belt, into his hand, and threw it at the wall, all in one motion. "Now I have to pay for that…."

I looked at Naesala, who was shaking his head. "Someday, Rothen…." He didn't finish his sentence, and I was sure it might have involved physical damage to Rothen.

Leanne rolled her eyes at her oldest nephew. "Moving on…. Your turn, Darren."

I gulped, all of a sudden overcome with nervousness. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Selene give an exaggerated yawn. Scowling, I uttered, "Let's get this over with."

In front of me, Leanne nodded and began her routine speech. "Prince Darren of Serenes, by the might of the goddess, the next path you take shall be a blessed one. With this staff, I dub thee a Swordsmaster, swift and agile." The Matrona staff gently brushed my shoulders, and I felt the light around me that I saw with Rothen.

The process didn't take hardly as long as it had before. It seemed that as quickly as the brightness was there, it was gone. Mya gave a sigh in awe. "You look great, Darren!"

To me, it seemed my clothes hadn't changed. My black button-up top still stayed the same; however, the only noticeable difference was that I had a cloak-like bottom piece instead of one that wrapped around. My pants fit well tucked into my navy boots. The sheaths on my waist were a bit longer to hold better swords, though my Wo Daos were still implanted in them. "Nice," I said, satisfied, and still looking down at my clothes. "Wonder what it's like when I promote into a Trueblade."

"Probably better than what I can do." Leanne gave a supportive smile, but the look she gave put me on edge. Her eyes, filled with worry, flickered to the window. Behind her, Naesala grabbed his left forearm. My meticulous eyes were getting me onto something. What was up with their behavior?

Selene and Anya's promotions seemed rushed; the formal speech used for promotions spilled out of her mouth in a slightly slurred manner, and she kept glancing out the window. Once the two had promoted to their respective classes of Light Healer and Sniper, Leanne hurriedly passed the staff to Ellie and said, "We've got to get you guys out. We can't have you here."

"What? Why?" Ellie asked, her voice trembling.

"Because the Gravenvale troops are coming. They are suspecting suspicious activity in the castle." Mya's voice, calm and focused, shocked me in a time of such tenseness in the air. "I see it. Leanne's right, we'd better go."

On instinct, my hand grabbed my sword hilt. I could hear the men's voices and feel the vibrations of their feet charging toward the castle. "How do we exit?"

"You go out here"- we were on the second story, so she opened a window- "jump, and fly to the ship. Mya, Kurth will come get you, and Ellie, you've got your pegasus… Naesala, go! I can't let you be seen-" Leanne urged her husband away and she almost followed him before saying to us, "I'm sorry, you all. The fact the Gravenvale had seized our land is making living so much harder… I'm sorry, please be safe…" And she fled down the stairs behind the raven king.

"Let's go."I drew my sword in anticipation and perched on the window. "Avoid archers and wind mages, they're dangerous to flying units. Kurth!" I called in my loudest voice out the window, "Get ready to catch Mya when she jumps! And get Ellie's pegasus flying!"

Silence at first, but the roar of a dragon told me Kurth had listened. "Alright." To the group, I said quickly, watching the troops advance below us, "I'll go first, then Rothen, Selene, Anya, and so forth, got it?" I whipped my head from the window to see a response. The group nodded.

"Good, let's fly." I jumped, feeling the air rush past me, and I expanded my wings and elevated. Below, I could see the archers readying their bows. _Now._

At the speed of light, I zipped over and above the army, pressing my hands flat against my back with sword behind me. The arrows barely skimmed my body due to flying speeds. Soon Kurth flew past me, and he drew a large breath, and wiped out the majority of the troops, giving a mighty roar afterward.

"Darren!" Rothen slid up to my speed. "Mya's using light magic, that's okay with you?"

"I'm good with that!" I replied, feeling the light at my back.

"_Thani!"_ Mya called, from behind me. I smirked. Mya was awesome as a Light Sage.

"Come on! We've got to get to the ship!" With most of the army gone, we made it there in seconds.

'"It's in one piece!" Rothen fell onto the top deck. "I thought it would've been burned to ashes by now…"

"Well, we'd better get a move on before it does," I said, scanning the field. Anya had a good aim on one little mage, and Selene used her newfound light magic to help out. After that, they reached the ship next.

"I'm glad not to be in a dress anymore," Anya said as Ellie landed on the ship, breathing hard. Her pegasus whinnied. "These shorts are so much better." She played with her mid-thigh white shorts that complimented her sandy top and boots.

"Uh-huh." I nodded at her. But we were still waiting for two more: Mya and Kurth.

Not a few minutes after, I noticed the army had stopped attacking and Mya and the now human Kurth landed on the deck.

"They're… really… mad….at…Leanne…." Mya gasped, "For keeping us there… and I heard Naesala was in trouble too because he broke some….contract…"

"A contract?" Rothen asked, lifting the anchor and sprinting to the steering wheel. "What kind?"

"Don't know," Kurthnaga implied, "but it sounded like trouble for the two of them."

I cringed. We had gotten Kilvas into some big trouble for staying there. But hey, it wasn't our fault the country was seized earlier, either…

"So," I said, wanting to think about that matter later. "Where to next?"

"Not Phoenicis," Kurth said, "They're going through the same thing Kilvas is and their princess in held hostage."

An ominous hush passed over our crowd. Kurth shifted from one foot to the other as the ship moved out of the harbor. "What, is it something I said?"

"Well, Phoenicis's princess, Sera, was one of our friends." I said, stoically. Even now, emotion for Sera and the country didn't show through me. I'd learned something, even though the war had just started: your emotions can't overcome what you aim for, and for us, that was getting the medallion.

Yune came out of nowhere and landed on Mya's shoulder. "Gallia," Mya said, "We go there."

"Yay!" Anya said, overcoming the shock, "I've always wanted to see Gallia."

"But it won't be a friendly visit, Anya." Mya closed her eyes and sighed. "We're going to be fighting for the save the country from being taken over, and trust me, it won't be easy."

The ship lurched forward into the afternoon waters. Fighting for Gallia wasn't a problem, but because of the length of the trip… would we get there in time?

* * *

**Hi again^^**

**If anyone wants to know what a Light Healer is, its a class that promotes from a Heron and can use Galdr, Staves, and Light Magic...**

**Please Review!**

**Disclamer: I don't own Fire Emblem!**

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone *gobble gobble* XXD**


	14. Losing You

_**Part II: United We Stand**_

**~Losing You...~**

* * *

**~6 weeks later~**

"Need anything else, Darren? I'm here all day."

"Nah, I think I'm good, Kilroy."

"Great. See you." The slender brown-haired cat laguz, though in human form, slinked out of the room in a very animal-like manner.

I sighed and shifted my position on the bed so that I could look out the window. Around Castle Gallia were weathered cliffs covered with lush green bushes. Basically, not a square patch of flat land in sight. I wondered how Gravenvale was going to get through this heck of a land. Frankly, I wondered if they would ever get here, because we'd arrived over a month earlier and no sign of their familiar red and gold uniforms. Was Mya's foresight correct or not? She could have been sending us on a wild goose chase, for all I know. I sighed again. Not likely.

However, I was starting to get used to Gallia. Kilroy, King Skrimir's right-hand man, was always running around doing things for us on a whim. Even the smallest ones. "Too obsequious for my taste," Selene would utter every so often.

And was I talking about Skrimir too? Well… let's just say the when he heard Gallia would be under attack soon, calling him _furious _is a major understatement. He used every dirty word known to man, and probably some he made up. Even after listening to him rant and rave for two hours – no joke – only one sentence could linger in my mind from his speech:

"FLIMSY SPINLESS BEORC! THEY _DARE_ TO EVEN TRY TO BARGE INTO MY DOMAIN? GALLIA WILL SHOW THEM NO MERCY!"

And then he barged off, shouting commands at random laguz around to prepare the armies. That was the first day we'd arrived, and we hadn't seen him since. Actually, I was glad he hadn't shown his face after _that _outburst.

"Darren!" Mya skipped into my room suddenly, jolting me from my thoughts. Her blue sage cloak lay on her back as she lay on my bed next to me, so close that I could feel her warmth heating my back. "Morning," she said cheerfully.

I turned away from the window to face her. "Hey, Mya." Her cheeks, I noticed, were rosy pink when the sun shone on her face. She noticed me staring and she gave a small giggle.

"You're staring at me again," she pointed out.

I let my face flush bright red. Mya really knew how to get on my… um, romantic side. "Yes… I have a tendency to stare."

She giggled again, her face red like mine. She tucked my black hair behind my pale ears and caressed my cheek slowly. "Your skin is really soft to me. It's like silk…. Or water."

I was sure my face was redder than a ripe tomato. Mya was touching my cheek. _My _cheek. _Oh, goddess… _

My hand, slow and unsure, curled over her soft fingers. "You're making me blush."

"I know that, stupid boy," she said mockingly. A single tear rolled down her cheek, like a cascading river over sand-colored skin. "I'm blushing too. And…"

"Why are you crying?" I asked as she slipped her hand away from my face. Grabbing her hands, I pulled her up into a sitting position, lifting myself along with the movement. We sat facing the window, with Gallia's ragged cliffs that seemed golden in the early morning light. I gripped Mya's hands tighter and said, "Tell me what's wrong."

The tears rolling down Mya's face turned into a rapidly running waterfall. They made her cheeks seem dimmer and hollow. "I… don't want to… lose you…"

"Now why would that ever happen?"

"Because…. This war. You could easily get killed, or captured. And Father, his doesn't agree to us being together. What If he comes and gets me? What if Shiran…."

Chills ran down my spine at Mya's servant's name. He, as I had perceived him since our first meeting, was very prejudiced toward laguz. Since Shiran and Mya were betrothed, I concluded that it was quite possible that Shiran was going to force Mya into their marriage….

"I don't want to marry him! He's…. he's so… forcing of his love onto me! And I…. I don't love him! Not at all! And…. He kept talking about this prophecy. Like, that the two of us were fated by the goddess to be married. What in the name of Ashera did that come from?" Her breath came out in short, quick gasps laden with her sobs. "I hate this… all of it! It's all for the money! Daein's such a poor country, and Shiran's family just so happens to be richer than us…I want it to go away!" She put her face in her hands, sobs making her slender body shake.

I hadn't thought about any of those possibilities. I was just a heron, after all. If someone took my swords, I was an easy target. But that wasn't what I was worried about. Shiran was really what threatened Mya and me. As I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back, I could only wonder if Shiran was plotting something right now to get back his betrothed.

Mya threw her arms around my neck, letting her tears stain my tunic. We just sat there like that, holding each other. I was sure of it; Mya needed me the most now. I had to keep her strong, keep her going. I couldn't have her – or myself – be killed because of emotional conflict. "Mya. It's okay. Be strong. It's okay."

"Oh, Darren….. I can't… _ihsataw on iemnu…"_

_My fate, _she'd said. _Her _fate. Wait, was she just speaking in the ancient tongue? Now my mind spun. Where had she heard those words? It couldn't have been me. Then I realized that the magic users use the ancient language in their spells… but…. Something didn't fit. I sighed. _Another piece to the puzzle, _I thought, still caressing Mya, trying to get her heart still, though mine was not.

**

* * *

**

**~One week later~**

"I spy with my little eye…something red and gold with lots of shine on it."

My muscles tensed in the late-afternoon sun. Selene was trying to make light of this dire situation by starting up a little game of 'I Spy'. It wasn't working. "Let me guess…. two thousand Gravenvale soldiers coming straight at us?"

Selene smiled a satisfied smile that made her teeth gleam. "Bingo."

They'd finally come. Trudging across the flat plain near Gallia's border, Gravenvale's myriad dracoknights, mages, and ground troops marched closer to us at the speed of light. I was sure they were going to put up a fight, but so were we. Skrimir had every able cat and tiger laguz trained and shifted to their animal form.

"All right!" He called in his booming voice. "Laguz of Gallia, the time has arrived! We must not let these little human weaklings prevail, or you will all meet my claws, got that?"

The roars of laguz erupted across the field, filled with anxiety and pride. The sun beat down on their backs, making some of their small hairs tremble slightly. Then a rustling next to me alerted the fine hairs on my back.

"Hey, Darren." The brown cat laguz gave a smirk, staring at me.

"Kilroy. Good timing."

"Yeah, I got a little delayed back at the castle with some little trivial stuff…. Anyway, I was wondering where your Brigade will be going after Gallia? I mean, just in case you guys wanted to keep in touch."

"Sure. I was planning on heading to Begnion, possibly Sienne." Mya had requested that she see Sayuki earlier in the day, so I hoped that we could get a move on right after this battle.

"Begnion, eh?" Kilroy ran his hands through his hair, which was damp with a bit of sweat. "It'll be a stretch, but I think I can escape Skrimir's yelling for a couple of days to check up on you." He gave a chuckle, shaking his head in King Skrimir's direction.

"Okay then." I nodded.

"See ya!" Kilroy formshifted, and ran off to Skrimir's lion side, his brown hair still gleaming.

"ROAR!" Skrimir gave a loud cry and his army began to charge at lightning speed toward the advancing enemy fleet. My brow furrowed in confusion. I had gone over with Skrimir that we were on the defense, not killing every enemy in sight. I sighed, running after the beast laguz with Mya trailing after me. Skrimir was one tough cookie, mostly because he didn't listen to reason.

All of a sudden the sound of a larger roar – and an explosion of light – came from the northeast corner of the field. Kurth was there, in his dragon form shooting his breath attacks at the red-golden knights. Kurth was reluctant to go into Castle Gallia – I could only wonder why he was deciding to fight this battle here.

"Darren! Advancing force, twelve o'clock!" Rothen yelled from an unknown place. Sure enough, the enemy was heading straight toward Mya and me, their clanking boots throwing dirt everywhere. "Mya! Ready!"

"I'm on it!"

Mya murmured something that sounded like, "O light, gather, open my path" except in the ancient tongue. Her hands were grasped in one ball above her head. "_Ellight!"_ She called loudly, sending twists of light at the group, making them fall back.

At least that's what I can assume. Shortly before Mya cast her spell, Dracoknights with bows began to shoot at me. I swore, wishing I had a hand sword that I could throw at them. "Rothen! I need cover!"

"On it!" Rothen's dagger sliced the air at a rapid speed, cutting all three soldiers across the stomach, sending each of them to the ground with a thump.

"Thanks!" I called running from the scene, unsheathing one sword, swinging it at every red piece of armor I saw. An enemy tiger laguz ran at me out of nowhere, leaping from the air, his jaws open. In an instant, my sword was at his stomach, slicing the skin open and leaving my arms strewn with blood. I shoved the dead body away with my foot, sighing. War was no joke.

"Hiyaaah!" Suddenly a woman's body had pushed me onto my face. I could hear her draw her dagger, with a noise like a drinking glass falling. Before she could stab me in the back, I flipped over so that I was on top of her, my knees on her stomach. She looked up at me with wild, enraged eyes. I put my sword to her throat, and leaned down, whispering in her ear.

"If you don't want me to kill you right now, you'd be careful about where you put that dagger," I sneered at her.

The girl could only take a gasp as her weapon dropped from her left hand. "Fine… p-please don't kill me…"

I felt mercy for her, strangely. Maybe because she had said_ please_. But, this was war however. I wasn't willing to let any enemy go, for the sake of Tellius. "Sorry, can't," I murmured. I pressed on my sword, her choked off scream lingering in my ears.

I rubbed my sword on the ground, letting the dirt soak up the deceased rogue's blood. I really had just killed an innocent soldier. I sighed, as I heard metal clash against metal and laguz give roars. That's really what war is about, isn't it? Killing the enemy for a cause. That's what I had signed up for when I made the Brigade. Ellie, Mya, Selene, Rothen, Anya, maybe Kurth. How many had they killed? Were they used to it by now?

"RETREAT! Now! They've got laguz weapons! We won't stand a chance! RETREAT!" Skrimir's voice, as loud as thunder, echoed into my ears. I swore again, and stood. We were losing.

I turned and ran back to where our army had just emerged an hour earlier. The laguz that still lived ran in their animal state back to the hills and mountains of central Gallia. Rothen, Mya, and the rest of the Brigade were way ahead of me, for they had probably sprinted off before I did at the sound of the call. Now, I'm fast on my feet, but faster in the air. The enemy was close on me, and if I didn't take off with my wings I'd be under their feet in seconds. I took a deep breath, and, taking a risk, jumped into the air, my white wings shining in the sun as I flew across the sky to catch up.

"DARREN! Are you crazy!" Rothen's shriek reached my ears.

_Maybe I am, _I thought, still flying. The remaining enemy army gave cries of surprise.

"Wah! It's… a heron! Wasn't prince Verdone searching for one of them?"

"Hah… yeah! Archers! Bring him down!"

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. That's the risk I was taking. Being spotted. The called-on archers' arrows slid past my body, and I easily avoided them, maneuvering my body left and right. I struggled to fly faster, to reach the rest of the Gallia group, but suddenly an arrow made its way into my upper left arm, sending a spasm of pain throughout my body and causing me to cry out. My wings wouldn't push me any higher, so I could only let myself fall, at the feet of the enemy.

My entire being hurt like fire was raging inside my body. How could one little arrow cause so much damage? Then I felt a sickening feeling a nausea rise in my stomach. Obviously, the enemy wasn't letting their guard down. I'd been hit with a poison-covered arrow, thus the urging feeling to throw up. My head spun as one face over mine came into view.

"Those archers just had to use venin bows… by the goddess, we don't want him dead. I thought I'd explained that." The young man – I assumed he was the general – gave an exasperated sigh, which made his short green hair rise off his forehead. "Let's just get him back to the castle, pronto."

The venin was slowly taking away my consciousness. My fingers could no longer feel the dirt under my body; it was as if I had fallen into a pit of nothingness. But my ears did pick up one more sound: the single cry, far off in the distance, of a Gravenvale soldier.

"We've claimed Gallia!"

They'd gotten the castle. My heart sunk in my chest. Now all the laguz countries were controlled by the enemy. I felt myself slipping from alertness into a poison-induced stupor, but before I did I hoped that Mya wasn't too worried about me… I could only hope.

* * *

**Sorry I'd didn't update for so long... but I'm back!**

**As you can clearly see, I didn't put the skills activated in the battle because I thought it interrupted the flow of the story.**

**BTW, I cried while writing the first part of this chapter with Darren and Mya. It was that emotional...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own FE.**


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